SMRC's Failure: Who Gets Help and Who Gets Left Behind?

SMRC's Failure: Who Gets Help and Who Gets Left Behind?

How long must the people of Cooma wait for justice and accountability? - By Chris Chan

To my friends and residents of the Snowy Monaro,

a bishop once wrote "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." (Desmond Tutu)

I am writing to you today because I believe we face an injustice so profound, so glaring, that it cannot and must not be ignored. We stand in the shadow of the worst man-made disaster in Cooma's living history—a disaster that did not have to happen, a disaster that even after five long years, remains unresolved. And I ask you today, how long must our community wait for justice?

Five years. Five years since the Cooma water reservoir collapsed, wreaking havoc on homes, livelihoods, and the lives of our most vulnerable citizens. Five years of lies upon lies and unanswered questions; of residents left to fend for themselves while those with council connections sit comfortably, untouched by the devastation. And yet, despite all this, despite the overwhelming evidence, despite the undeniable suffering—the Gang councillors (Deputy Mayor Hopkins, Labor Councillors Higgins and Summers, ex-Mayors Rooney and Davis) have refused to take action (Note: Mayor Hanna was absent due to a declared conflict of interest). They have refused to investigate. They have refused to acknowledge their duty to this community.

Let me ask you this: If any of the Gang councillors had been the ones whose homes were flooded with muck and asbestos, whose lives were upended, would they have voted to ignore the need for remediation? Would they have dismissed the cries for justice so callously? No! If it had been their homes, their families, their friends, their livelihoods, this issue would have been resolved in the blink of an eye.

Why did three Independents call the extraordinary meeting? They did so because five years for simple justice and compensation is too long. Five years of waiting in limbo, of battling bureaucracy, of being told to wait and wait and wait. These three Independents collectively said: "Enough!"

We have a duty to our fellow neighbors. A duty to those who have been ignored, to those who have been cast aside by a council more interested in protecting their own agendas than serving the people they were elected to represent. We all must fight for fair and just treatment in the Cooma Monaro. We all must stand up and demand accountability.

The Independent Councillors, Rose, Thaler and Williamson aren't even Cooma locals - yet they clearly see the injustice visited upon some of the town’s most vulnerable. When the tank collapsed spreading mud, debris and asbestos through over 50 homes, those with connections to council got remediated, as did those with insurance and legal assistance. But what about those who didn't have friends in high places, some still have received zero assistance - read that again - zero assistance despite enduring Cooma's biggest man made disaster in our lifetime.

A local resident affected by the collapse, mother of three, Kylie went on record to ask "How would you feel if this had happened to you? If you woke up one day to find your backyard, where your children once played happily, now contaminated with asbestos, with no one willing to clean it up? How would you feel if your fence was torn apart by a flood you had no way of preventing, and it was left broken for five years? If your tools, your children’s play equipment, and your family’s vehicles were destroyed—and no one took responsibility?"

We cannot stand idly by while the Interim CEO likely pockets an annualized salary around $350,000—plus fringe benefits—all off the back of this community, and all while he stonewalls the very people he is meant to serve. Mr Dunshea attempted to dismiss all seven motions set for Friday’s meeting with his often spurious and irrelevant responses in the Business Papers, that protected the council rather than that of the interests of residents and ratepayers he was employed to serve. The latest recommendation from the Office of Local Government is that General Managers should not provide written responses to motions because it draws them into the political environment rather than helping keep them independent, which is what they are obliged to be. What kind of leadership is this? What kind of stewardship of public trust is this? It is a betrayal of our community and our values.

And what of Mayor Hanna? Where was he? Absent. Absent due to a conflict of interest, details of which he refuses to disclose to the very people he was elected to represent and serve. Deputy Mayor Hopkins spoke vaguely about the Mayor having property in the area and having aided friends with claims, but there has been no clarifying statement from the Mayor himself. Was it pecuniary or non pecuniary? We, the people of Cooma Monaro, deserve to know what that conflict is! Transparency is not optional; it is a fundamental part of democracy.

While I commend Deputy Mayor Tricia Hopkins for the difficult task she faced in maintaining order in the chamber due the multitude of interruptions, unsubstantiated points of order and irrelevant questions brought primarily by Crs Higgin’s, Davis and Summers - let us not forget: leadership is about courage, about standing for what is right and just and what is in the interest of the community, it is not just about trying to maintain decorum in the debate. Yet, when the time came to stand squarely with the Independent councillors who had brought before council consideration of the tank collapse in order to work for justice, transparency and accountability - Deputy Mayor Hopkins failed. She, too, chose to darken the reputation of the council by shutting the door on and obscuring that which is a basic requirement of a functional council: learning from the lessons of the past to make possible continuous improvement for the benefit of the community it serves. These lessons have not been learnt, and additionally many repercussions of the tank collapse remain unresolved in the community. However, Deputy Mayor Hopkins clearly shut the door on transparency, accountability and the welfare of community. In an interview on the 24 January 2025 with Georgie Burgess WIN News Canberra, Deputy Mayor Hopkins said:

“People are just looking forward to moving on and and getting on with their lives….Whether it could have been done better or differently, who's to say? The best was done at the time I believe.”

Extraordinary! Affected residents still waiting for resolution CAN’T move on and Deputy Mayor Hopkins then voted against a motion to support an investigation that would have determined “whether it could have been done better or differently”! An investigation that would have determined the lessons to be learnt so that it never happened again.

We must remember, my friends, that the council has a moral obligation, a solemn duty, to remediate the damage they have done, and to conduct a full and proper investigation for the community. This is not a favor. This is not a gift. This is their responsibility and obligation. They must answer to the people whose lives they have disrupted and whose properties they have destroyed and damaged, to the ratepayers who trusted them, and to the moral compass that should guide every public servant.

And let me say this in light of the increasing trolls on our regional noticeboards: We don't have to argue with anybody. We don't have to curse with our words. We don't need hostility or aggression. All we need to do is make known in these council chambers and to these trolls—some of whom own shops and/or are involved in community clubs—and say, 'You're not treating our community right, and until you do, you will not have our support.' Their own words and frequent anonymity expose their guilt. They reveal their own shortcomings in the profanity they spew and the illogical twists they employ to defend the indefensible.

So I say to you, my friends, we must not be silent. We must not be discouraged. We must not be dissuaded by their delay tactics and their denials. We must demand justice. We must demand transparency. We must demand fairness and what is right in our community.

And let me tell you this: We will not stop. We will not rest. Like a wise man once said "We will not be silent until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

No doubt there will be difficult days ahead, but it doesn't really matter "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." When the future generations look upon this incident, and the meetings that happened after, they will remember: Shame on those who voted against transparency, shame on those who turned their backs on justice, and shame on those who stood in the way of what is right and good.

Let us stand together, united in our pursuit of truth, justice and transparency for the people of our great region. Let us remind the council that their duty is to us—to the people who elected them to serve the community. And together, let us ensure that they never forget it.

Thank you.