The mayor of a region that has been devastated by floodwaters says houses could have been saved if the Northern Territory government had listened to residents and built them away from a known flood zone.
The entire population of Pigeon Hole, home to about 150 people, was forced to evacuate last week after major flooding inundated the small remote community south-west of Katherine.
Floodwaters reached so high that only rooftops of properties were visible from above on Thursday.
Brian Pedwell, mayor of the Victoria Daly Regional Council, said the scale of the crisis could have been avoided if the NT government had listened to community concerns over the construction of critical infrastructure near the river bank.
"For the past two decades, we have been yelling from the rooftops about moving the community – this includes the health centre and school — to higher ground," Mr Pedwell said.
He said the council had strongly opposed the NT government's development of six properties in 2019 due to their location in a flooding zone.
"Following the 2001 floods, the NT government moved the power station, sewerage ponds and the airstrip to higher ground," Mr Pedwell said.
"Unfortunately, the houses and other major infrastructure remain in the flood zone.
"And instead of listening and doing something about it, the NT government built the new houses right on the banks of the river."
Isolated pocket of land with neighbours on rich list
The tiny Aboriginal community of Pigeon Hole, which has very poor mobile phone and internet connection, is surrounded by pastoral property belonging to the famous Victoria River Downs cattle station.
Established in 1880, the lucrative pastoral lease was once eyed by media tycoon Kerry Packer and is now run by the Heytesbury Group, founded by the late mining billionaire Robert Holmes à Court.
The original Pigeon Hole homestead was initially built on the banks of the Victoria River, but was relocated to higher ground following major flooding in 2001.
The ABC understands the station's location on higher ground has protected it from the recent NT floods.
Meanwhile, flooding continues to pose an annual threat to the nearby Aboriginal community of Pigeon Hole, where floodwaters have been known to reach 3.4 metres above ground level.
Pigeon Hole elder Raymond Hector said locals were "filled with fear" every year due to the flooding risk, and said elders been calling for action since 2001.
"We feel scared every time the wet season comes because we know it's going to get flooded again," he told the ABC.
"And it scares us, really. Everybody in the community."
Mr Hector said it would have been cheaper for the government to have relocated the houses years ago, rather than paying for the clean-up from flood damage.
"There's a whole lot of money put into the community to rebuild it again, and it's gone down the drain with the floodwater," he said.
"We need the government's support — anybody to help us — to relocate to higher ground so we don't have to worry about these floods."
Letters reveal calls for action
Letters obtained by the ABC show Mr Pedwell has been lobbying NT government ministers since 2020 for help moving Pigeon Hole's infrastructure to higher ground.
In one letter addressed to former Labor MLA Gerald McCarthy in 2020, Mr Pedwell wrote that the NT's Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics had "built new block houses in the flood zone".
"These new houses, as well as those currently under construction, are at significant risk of serious and costly damage," he wrote.
"And, despite community's calls for all new housing to be located on higher ground, inappropriate housing continues to be constructed in areas known for flooding."
The letters also show Mr Pedwell had written to Cabinet ministers Eva Lawler and Chansey Paech requesting river gauges be installed to give residents advanced warning when the Victoria River was reaching dangerous levels.
"It's no surprise to anyone, that these houses and the livelihoods of the people who lived in them have now been destroyed," he said.
The ABC understands the Northern Land Council has been seeking access to land on higher ground in the area.
NT government says it built homes where residents wanted them
In a statement, the NT's Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics said Pigeon Hole residents were consulted on two separate occasions in 2018 over plans to build six new homes in the community, with a tender awarded in 2019.
"There are more than 20 remote public housing homes in the community," the spokesperson said in a statement.
"Community members expressed their preference for the demolition and replacement of the existing homes in their current location."
The government spokesperson also said most of the homes in Pigeon Hole were constructed before the NT government took over responsibility for remote housing.
"Many established remote communities were settled in areas close to rivers and as such, are susceptible to inundation," the spokesperson said.
"Full mitigation of flooding would require the potential relocation of existing communities and essential services infrastructure at great cost."
Last month, a tender was awarded to build four new homes in Pigeon Hole on existing lots in the community.
