FLOOD WARNING FOR THE LOCKYER, BREMER, WARRILL AND BRISBANE RIVER BELOW WIVENHOE INCLUDING BRISBANE CITY

PRIORITY
Issued at 4:06 AM on Tuesday the 11th of January 2011
by the Bureau of Meteorology, Brisbane.
The main flood waters in the Lockyer Creek are now arriving at Lyons Bridge, with strong stream rises expected during Tuesday.

Wivenhoe dam is providing significant mitigation of upper Brisbane floods. River flows from the Bremer and Lockyer catchments combined with releases from Wivenhoe dam are expected to increase levels in Brisbane during Tuesday.

At the Brisbane City Gauge, minor flood levels of about 2.1 metres are expected with the afternoon high tide on Tuesday and levels of about 3 metres are expected with the high tides on Wednesday causing moderate flooding.

(3 metres at the Brisbane City gauge is about 1.5 metres higher than the highest tide of the year at this location).

LOCKYER CREEK:
Extremely heavy rainfall during Monday led to extreme rises in the Lockyer Creek catchment and Laidley Creek at Mulgowie. Record flood levels of 18.92 metres were recorded at Gatton Monday evening before the station failed. This level was well above the previous record peak of 16.33 metres from the February 1893 flood.

The main flood waters are currently arriving at Lyons Bridge, with strong stream rises expected in the next few hours. The Lockyer Creek at Glenore Grove peaked at 14.60 metres at 11:30pm, which is 0.3 metres below the 1974 flood.

Renewed stream rises have commenced in Lockyer Creek at Lyons Bridge with a peak between 16 and 16.5 metres expected Tuesday morning. This is likely to be similar in level to the 1996 flood.

BREMER RIVER:
The Bremer River at Walloon has exceeded the moderate flood level. The Bremer River at Rosewood peaked at 5.8 metres around midnight monday.

The Bremer River at Ipswich is expected to reach about 12.7 metres on Tuesday afternoon. Higher levels are possible.

WARRILL CREEK
Warrill Creek at Amberley peaked at 5.98 metres around 9pm Monday.

MIDDLE AND LOWER BRISBANE:
Moderate flooding is developing at Savages Crossing and at Mt Crosby Weir.

At the Brisbane City Gauge (lower end of Edward Street and at Thornton Street), minor flood levels of about 2.1 metres are expected with the afternoon high tide on Tuesday and levels of about 3 metres are expected with the high tides on Wednesday causing moderate flooding.

(3 metres at the Brisbane City gauge is about 1.5 metres higher than the highest tide of the year at this location).

Predicted River Heights/Flows:

Ipswich:  Reach about 12.7 metres (major) during Tuesday afternoon.  Moggill:  Reach about 12 metres (minor) during Tuesday afternoon.  Jindalee: Reach about 7 metres (minor) overnight Tuesday.  Brisbane: Reach about 2.1 metres (minor) with the afternoon high tide on Tuesday.  Reach about 3 metres (moderate) with the high tides on Wednesday.  (3 metres at the Brisbane City gauge is about 1.5 metres higher than the highest tide of the year at this location).  Further rises are possible at all four locations depending on further rain.   

Next Issue:

The next warning will be issued at about 8am Tuesday.   

SCAMwatch email alert: Donate wisely - Central Queensland flood crisis [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

Donate wisely - Central Queensland flood crisis

View radar online.

Added: January 2011
 
SCAMwatch is warning consumers to thoroughly check the legitimacy of charities when donating to help flood victims in central and south east Queensland.

Whilst many legitimate charities exist, scammers have been known to take advantage of the public's generosity and kindness in the aftermath of disastrous events.  Recent charity scams emerged during the Haiti earthquake crisis in 2010 and the Victorian bushfires in 2009.

Charity scams operate in a number of different ways.  You may be approached on the street or in your home by people collecting money who are pretending to be from a legitimate charity. Scammers may also set up false websites which look similar to those operated by real charities. Some scammers will also approach you by telephone or with spam emails requesting donations.

Not only do these scams cost people money, they also divert much needed donations away from legitimate charities and causes.

Visit the Queensland Premier's website for information on how to make a donation.

Warning signs for charity scams

• You have not heard of the charity before. 
• The scam operates via a fake website which is a very close replica to a legitimate charity site. Scammers may also use replica letters and emails.
• A collector makes a face-to-face approach but does not have any identification or has forged identification.
• The collector cannot or will not give you details about the charity, such as its full name, address or phone number.
• The collector becomes defensive over questions about what the charity does and how much of the donation gets taken up by costs.
• The collector asks for cash, won't accept a cheque or asks for any cheque to be made out to them rather than to the charity. Illegitimate online collectors will insist on payment by money transfer.
• The collector doesn't want to provide a receipt or the receipt does not have the charity's details on it.

How to protect yourself from charity scams

• Approach charity organisations directly to make a donation.
• Don't rely on a phone number or website address given by the person who first called, visited or emailed you because they could be impersonating a legitimate charity. 
• Never give out your personal, credit card or online account details unless you initiated contact and it is a trusted source.
• If you are approached out of the blue by a collector ask to see their identification.
• Legitimate charities are registered at the state or territory level—check with your local fair trading agency to see if they are a genuine charity. 
• Don't open suspicious or unsolicited emails (spam)—delete them.

Report
You can report scams to the ACCC via the report a scam page on SCAMwatch or by calling 1300 795 995.

More information
Explore SCAMwatch to find out more about charity scams.

Stay one step ahead of the scammers. Explore SCAMwatch for more tips on how to recognise and protect yourself from scams.
________________________________

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Queensland Flood Update: Double the devastation of 1974 flood

Minister for Main Roads

The Honourable Craig Wallace

10/01/2011

Double the devastation of 1974

The damage bill to the state's transport network from the worst natural disaster in Queensland's history could end up double that of the destructive 1974 floods.

Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace today said Queensland's worst floods in 50 years had a devastating effect on the road network with a final bill possibly worse than the 1974 and 1991 floods combined.

The bill currently stands around $1.5 billion with the full extent of the damage a long way from being known.

Minister Wallace said the floods and continuing heavy rains could have a major long term impact on the entire State road network with a large part of the network still underwater.

"Frankly we just don't know the final impact yet," Mr Wallace said.

"Too much of the network is still underwater.

"It's proving difficult to access many parts of the network, which means it will be a long process but, wherever we can, our engineers are working around the clock to inspect and assess damage, and prioritise emergency works.

"We've had repair crews on the job for the last two weeks.

"We've got 33,000 km of state roads and the full extent of the damage can't be determined right now - it might not be known for many months - but we know it will be an unprecedented long term repair job.

"Very few stretches of road have been left untouched by weakened surfaces, potholes, verges and road base washed away or more serious structural damage.

"But our priority remains to get the roads safe and open.

"In the meantime, I urge all Queenslanders to stay safe on our roads. Drive to conditions and please don't drive into floodwaters."

"Broken roads can be fixed; broken families can't."

Mr Wallace said all available crews across the entire region were working around the clock to inspect and fix roads where possible.

"The recovery and rebuilding operation will be without parallel. We're pulling t together all levels of governments, private sector and emergency services to do everything to get infrastructure up and running as soon as possible.

State's worst flooded roads are:

• Capricorn Highway - Emerald to Rockhampton at Comet River, Dawson River and Yeppen Roundabout

• Leichhardt Highway from Goondiwindi to Wandoan

• Warrego Highway - Toowoomba to Mitchell

• Dawson Highway - Rolleston - Springsure

• Parts of the Bruce - north of Gympie to north of Gin Gin & southern entrance to Rockhampton

• Carnarvon Highway from Wallaroo Range to Rolleston

• Gregory Highway - Emerald to Capella

• Dawson Developmental Road - Springsure to Tambo

• Blackwater Rolleston Road including Humbolt Creek

• Fitzroy Developmental Road - Taroom to Bauhinia

• Burnett Highway and Goovigen to Dululu and Goomeri to Mundubbera

• Landsborough Highway - Tambo to Blackall at the Barcoo River

• Landsborough Highway - Blackall to Barcaldine at Patrick Creek

• Landsborough Highway - Barcaldine to Longreach multiple locations

• Bruce Highway - Gordonvale to Innisfail

• Gillies Range Road - Peet's Bridge to top of range

• Peninsula Developmental Road - entire length - Lakeland to Weipa

• Gregory Development Road - The Lynd to intersection 92C

• Kennedy Developmental Road - The Lynd to Etheridge/Flinders boundary

• Burke Developmental Road - Chillagoe to Tablelands Regional Council/Carpentaria Shire boundary

• Kalpowar Road

• Bundaberg-Gin Gin Road, at Splitters Creek

• Moonie Highway - Dalby to Moonie

• Barwon Highway (sections)

• Gatton-Clifton Road

• Chinchilla-Wondai Road (sections)

• Dalby-Kogan and Kogan-Condamine Roads

• Jackson-Wandoan Road

• Roma-Condamine Road

•Mitchell-St George Road

• Roma-Taroom Road

Taxi users face new slug with cab fare hike for Brisbane

 

Brisbane cab passengers face a fare hike for the second time in six months.

 

brisbanetimes.com.au has learnt of a state government decision to increase cab fares by 2.27 per cent following a request from the taxi industry.

 

The increase is due to come into effect on January 29, and follows a 4.2 per cent rise in late July.

 

Taxi Council of Queensland chief executive Blair Davies said the increases were required to cover rising costs.

 

"Our taxi drivers and operators have been doing it very tough over the last 12 months and very much needed this fare increase," he said.

 

Mr Davies said although cab fares were increased in mid-2010, there were no increases in 2009.

 

He said the latest increase was based on an analysis of costs the industry had experienced between April 1 and September 30, 2010, such as labour, fuel, vehicle upkeep and insurance.

 

Mr Davies defended the standard of service cab passengers received, saying taxis remained a value-for-money option.

 

"Cabs in Brisbane aren't the reserve of people who are the affluent members of society; we've got all of the cross-section of the population catching cabs, from old people to young people, from rich people to pensioners," he said.

 

The quality of cab services has been a matter of wide-ranging debate over the past few years.

 

The state government responded to criticism by announcing several measures, including a requirement for all new taxi drivers to take an English test.

 

It has also promised to publish average taxi waiting times on a departmental website.

 

www.brisbanetimes.com.au

Severe Weather Warning for Southeast Coast

‪BOM WARNING

FLOOD WARNING FOR COASTAL STREAMS FROM MARYBOROUGH TO THE NSW BORDER

Issued at 7:05 PM on Sunday the 9th of January 2011 by the Bureau of Meteorology, Brisbane.

A rainband stretches from Gympie to the northern suburbs of Brisbane and inland to Dalby.

Rainfall totals of up 180 millimetres have been recorded in the Sunshine Coast region in the six hours to 7pm.

The heaviest rainfall in the past two hours has been in the Kilcoy, Stanley and Upper Mary catchments, with totals up to 60 millimetres recorded.

The rainband is expected to move south during Sunday night.

Fast river rises have occurred in the Caboolture River resulting in minor flooding at Caboolture.

Further rises in the Caboolture River and Pine River catchments are expected overnight Sunday.

Further flooding is possible in the Brisbane and Ipswich metropolitan creeks overnight Sunday.

Flood warnings are current for the Mary River, Sunshine Coast streams and the Upper Brisbane and Lower Brisbane rivers.

‪Forecast:‬
‪

The BOM rainfall forecast for the next few days is:-

Overnight/Monday:  Very heavy rain periods  

Tuesday: Rain periods

Wednesday: A few showers 

Thursday: A shower or two.

Friday:  A shower or two.

Saturday: Mostly fine.

‪ 

Vodafone Australia is a joke: Mobile security outrage - Private details accessible on net

The personal details of millions of Vodafone customers, including
their names, home addresses, driver's licence numbers and credit card
details, have been publicly available on the internet in what is being
described as an ''unbelievable'' lapse in security by the mobile phone
giant.

The Sun-Herald is aware of criminal groups paying for the private
information of some Vodafone customers to stand over them.
Other people have apparently obtained logins to check their spouses'
communications.

Personal details, accessible from any computer because they are kept
on an internet site rather than on Vodafone's internal system, include
which numbers a person has dialled or texted, plus from where and
when.

The full extent of the privacy breach is unknown but The Sun-Herald
has learnt that possibly thousands of people have logins that can be
passed around and used by anyone to gain full access to the accounts
of about 4 million Vodafone customers.

Professor Michael Fraser, the head of the Australian Communications
Law Centre at the University of Technology, Sydney, said that it
appeared to be a major breach of the company's privacy obligations and
''unbelievably slack security''.

''The fact you can look up anybody as easily as that seems to be a
gross breach of privacy and resulting in an almost negligent exposure
to criminal activity,'' said Professor Fraser, who also heads the
Australian Communications Consumer Action Network.

A spokesman for Vodafone said yesterday the company had ordered an
immediate investigation and review of security procedures.

''Customer information is accessed through a secure web portal,
accessible to authorised employees and dealers via a secure login and
password,'' he said.

''Any unauthorised access to the portal will be taken very seriously,
and would constitute a breach of employment or dealer agreement and
possibly a criminal offence.

''We will be conducting a thorough investigation of the matter with
our internal security experts and will refer the matter to the
Australian Federal Police if appropriate.''

He said all passwords would be reset, and training and other
procedures would be reviewed.

The revelations come as Vodafone is facing potential lawsuits and
widespread customer dissatisfaction with network access.

More than 9000 customers have joined a class action and the company
has set up a number of taskforces to try to fix the problems.

In this new saga for Vodafone, dealers have revealed that they are
frequently asked to do ''favours'' and to pass on their login details.

Because the customer database is not an intranet (internal company
system) and instead on the internet, users with a password can log in
to the portal from anywhere, then access any customer's information.

Vodafone retailers have said each store has a user name and password
for the system. That access is shared by staff and every three months
it is changed. Other mobile dealers who sell Vodafone products also
get full access to the database.

Anyone with full access can look up a customer's bills and make
changes to accounts. Limited access allows searching by name, which
takes much longer and is more involved but can be just as effective
when done correctly. ''It's scary stuff in the wrong hands,'' one
dealer told The Sun-Herald.

Australian Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim said all organisations
should take appropriate steps to secure the personal information of
their customers or they risked breaching the Privacy Act.

''If an individual believes their privacy has been interfered with
they should first contact the organisation responsible and if they are
not satisfied with their response they can make a complaint to our
office,'' Mr Pilgrim said.

He has backed the federal government's intention to give his office
extra powers to impose penalties should he find a breach of the act.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/

Response to - One man v Microsoft: a day in the Dickmobile, another day in court for Aussie inventor

‪‪

Paul Deckers takes on Ric Richardson 

After reading your article (as well as many other's) I must respond that your attempt to turn Mr. Richardson into a form of David v.s. the big bad Goliath or some modern day Robin Hood is only valid when you leave out the important and constantly over looked fact that Mr. Richardson's company has sued over 100 companies in the U.S., including my former employer; a small < 15 employee software developer who was so unfortunate to use a commercially available anti-piracy package which has been deemed in violation by Mr. Richardson.
 
Mr. Richardson is very simply a man who once had an idea but never the gusto necessary to turn it into a thriving business. He has let other's do the dirty work for him and now with his patent coming close to expiring he is shooting anyone in his way to an even bigger pay-off.
 
Mr. Richardson is the embodiment of what is wrong in today's high tech world.
 
Sincerely,
 
Paul D Deckers
‬

Queensland Consumer Warning: Flood victims to be cautious of scammers

Minister for Tourism and Fair Trading

The Honourable Peter Lawlor

09/01/2011

Flood victims to be cautious of scammers

The Bligh Government is warning residents in regional Queensland to be on the lookout for dodgy traders following the floods.

Fair Trading Minister Peter Lawlor said unscrupulous itinerant traders tended to hit areas devastated by the floods, preying on the vulnerability of victims.

"The Office of Fair Trading often receives information about itinerant traders, particularly after events such as natural disasters, who go from town to town peddling their services," Mr Lawlor said.

"These traders offer everything from roof repairs and electrical work to resurfacing damaged driveways, but they're not always the blessing they appear to be.

"Many are unlicensed and their work can be quite shoddy and conduct questionable. Even if the trader does offer a guarantee, it probably means nothing as they often move on quickly.

"The last thing you need at such a stressful time is to have to pay someone else to fix the job."

Mr Lawlor said traders were usually bound by door-to-door trading rules that provided consumers with a 10-day cooling-off period, but different provisions applied to emergency repair contracts.

"Normally if a job is worth more than $75 the trader cannot begin work or accept payment in the first 10 days. This is to give people time to back out of large purchases if they change their mind after the salesman has left," Mr Lawlor said.

"However, in the event of a natural disaster, where emergency repairs are often necessary, those rules don't apply. While this allows homeowners to have emergency repairs completed, it also removes some protections meaning consumers must be even more vigilant.

"Before you engage anyone to perform emergency repairs around your house you should contact your insurer for information and advice," he said.

"If you are approached by a company you don't know, go online to check their website, call their head office, or check with someone else in town if they've used the trader's services.

"Ask the trader for ID and, if the job requires building work, a Building Services Authority licence which demonstrates they are licensed to perform that work.

"You should also ask the trader for a contract and proper receipt with their name and address on it.

"If you're not confident, do not feel pressured to take up the offer on the spot. Give yourself time to think it through, do more research, and get more quotes.

"If you do proceed with the work, make sure you check the quote carefully to avoid being overcharged."

To report suspicious business activity to the Office of Fair Trading, visit www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au or call 13 QGOV (13 74 68).

To check if a tradesman is licensed to perform the type of work you need, visit www.bsa.qld.gov.au