Woman hit with $91 parking fine while running from Cyclone Debbie... so is it fair?
A young Brisbane driver has berated her local council after she was given a parking ticket while Cyclone Debbie wreaked havoc across the state last Thursday.
As the city was hit with torrential rain and howling winds, Sophie Jane claimed she parked her car legally in Fortitude Valley before running into her office to gather some belongings.
With the weather so intense, she was unable to return to her car for 40 minutes but when she did Ms Jane had been slapped with a $91 parking fine.
“It was raining extremely heavy when I arrived at work today. Listening to the official’s warnings I parked as close as I could to my office in a LEGAL parking spot,” she wrote in a damning Facebook post to the Brisbane City Council.
“I did not have time to think about paying for my parking. I was only concerned about my safety.
“On a day where Queenslanders especially those within South East Queensland have been told to put their safety at number one priority… Brisbane City Council and their parking inspectors are still out giving parking fines
“To say I am appalled, shocked and absolutely astounded is an under statement.”
The young driver asked a series of damning questions to her local council accusing them of preying on the vulnerable in a time of emergency.
“Do you need to raise money that bad that you are preying on people who are doing their best in a state of emergency and listening to the governments warnings? she asked.
“Do you not care about the safety of other(s) and the safety of you(r) staff to have people out giving fines on today the day where Brisbane has pretty much been evacuated?”
Brisbane City Council replied to Ms Jane's post telling her that she could dispute the fine online.
The heated post saw the council draw further criticism; with many accusing them of revenue raising at the peak of the category four cyclone.
“Day light robbery,” Mell Cross wrote.
“Whilst the rest of Queensland was worried about weather conditions Graham Quirk was worried about boosting councils revenue,” Rod Mugford wrote.
“Your parking didn't endanger any lives or cause traffic congestion therefore the necessity to fine you is purely revenue based,” Josh Kelly commented.
Not everyone was so sympathetic towards Ms Jane though with one woman suggesting an umbrella would have prevented her problem.
“An umbrella would have fixed your issue, plus there are multi parking apps you can download to pay for your parking now without having to use the machines on the street anymore,” Adel Dzambic wrote.
“They were probably just doing their job as normal,” Liz Grant said in defence of the local council.
