A proposal to build about 500 apartments on flood-liable land on the banks of the Bremer River in Ipswich, west of Brisbane, raises many questions about our continuing lack of respect for the potential severity of the consequences of flooding.

Development proponents, sometimes supported by councils, keep proposing to build on land that is not merely liable to occasional inundation but dangerously so. In this case, the site of the proposed development is adjacent to a shopping centre in which the proponent has a major stake, so the potential dwellings are likely seen as key to the success of the commercial precinct.

The problem is that developers are hard-wired, it seems, to utilise flood-liable land no matter the potential for severe consequences when, inevitably, floods strike.

Ipswich is one of many urban areas in Australia which has a history of disastrous, sometimes deadly flooding — think Brisbane, Rockhampton, Townsville, Lismore and Maitland among many others — and yet the pressure to build in areas with histories of severe flooding continues seemingly unabated. The memories of past floods, even quite recent ones, are seemingly pushed away from our decision-making. So is the evidence of potential future floods with a capacity for substantial property losses and large death tolls.

The site of LEDA Holdings’ proposed development in Ipswich, reported by the ABC on 2 October, is slated to take 23 “towers” of three to five storeys each. All dwellings in the towers would be above........

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