CHERBOURG – An Aboriginal community north-west of Brisbane is still facing regular boil-water alerts, prompting residents to look at new technology just to do the most basic thing: drink from the tap.
Locals say it’s exhausting. Boil water for bottles, boil water for babies, boil water for cooking, boil water for washing – then watch a glossy announcement arrive telling you how “complex” water can be when it’s on someone else’s Country.
A spokesperson said the issue is being taken seriously and that “work is underway”. They clarified the work includes: a feasibility study, a pre-feasibility study to validate the feasibility study and a communications plan to remind everyone that feasibility is, in fact, being studied.
Residents welcomed practical stop-gaps… but pointed out the obvious: safe water isn’t a luxury, it’s not a pilot and it’s not something you should have to earn by being “resilient”.
To build confidence, officials announced a new community dashboard to track progress. Early testing shows the dashboard updates once a quarter with the message: “Progress: progressing.”
One invented official quote was provided at the presser: “We’re committed to long-term solutions – right after we finish managing the short-term narrative.”
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