Pipeline claims blasted by lawyer
LINKWATER was basing claims that it had reinstated the majority of properties affected by the pipeline roll-out on documents that the lawyer for those affected says "couldn't be used to hang a dog".
The Queensland government agency says it has completed reinstatement on 197 of 246 properties.
Lawyer Peter Boyce said the reality was that the figures did not represent satisfied land owners.
"They are simply declaring they've been fixed," Mr Boyce said.
He said the issue of compensation would now have to be resolved in the courts rather than the government acknowledging its responsibilities.
"They should be liberal and get this settled rather than paying penny pinchers to be nice to people's faces and then turning around and offering them $2."
LinkWater said it was committed to meeting the Director General of Infrastructure's requirement that properties be returned to as good or better status.
It has acknowledged, however, that the basis of compliance with the condition would be the Land Construction Reinstatement Plan rather than the land owner's evaluation of the outcome.
LinkWater CEO Peter McManamon described sign-off by the land owner only as a "voluntary quality assurance measure".
He said the plans were prepared for every property in consultation with the land owner.
"This plan includes photographs that clearly demonstrate the pre-construction condition of the property," Mr McManamon said.
"Where requested by LinkWater, the independent third party verifier compares this preconstruction condition with the current condition of the property to evaluate whether the reinstatement is compliant with the Coordinator General's conditions."
Mr Boyce said "you couldn't use the Land Construction Reinstatement Plan to hang a dog".
He said it was done preconstruction and took no account of issues that had arisen during construction.
LinkWater had used consultants Sinclair Knight Mertz to inspect properties but without consultation with land owners to determine the issues.
Soil agronomist Rob Abbas, who consults to a number of affected land owners, said the mixing of soil types and compaction had destroyed fertile soil profiles that could only be restored over time and at a cost to the yield and profitability of farms.
Horse owners have also complained that contamination of top soil meant animals were going lame after treading on rocks in the soil that were only evident after the pipeline's construction.
Mr McManamon said that in the event landowners had outstanding concerns about properties that had been deemed compliant, they should be raised as part of the compensation process being managed by the Office of the Coordinator General.
