Shocking council decision overturned after woman found car in sinkhole
The car was parked in Southport when the ground opened up, leaving it submerged in water for six hours.
A student who was left in tears after her car was swallowed up by a sinkhole on the Gold Coast is now relieved after council backflipped on an initial refusal to cover the cost of the car.
Riina Haapala, an international student from Finland, woke to find her car had fallen nose-first into a deep hole on Short Street in Southport in the early hours of the morning last Thursday.
Her Peurgeot was a write-off, and with no insurance, Riina was left “absolutely devastated and in distress” after the City of Gold Coast told her they weren’t liable for the damages – despite the sinkhole being caused by a burst water main.
“I really don’t understand how they cannot be liable for this,” Riina told 9News after the incident, which left the vehicle partially submerged in water for six hours.
In a letter to Riina, the council said the water main “was well within the expected life parameters for these installations, having been upgraded in 2004”, and it was not responsible because “the failure was an event outside of the council’s knowledge or control”.
As she is in Australia on a student visa, Riina is only allowed to work 20 hours per week and said she could not afford to replace her car or the work supplies she lost inside the vehicle.
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Council backflips on decision
A week after the sinkhole appeared, the council's CEO Tim Baker decided to overrule the initial decision – leaving Riina immensely relieved.
The council will provide a payout to the market value of the Peurgeot, or alternatively assist her to find a car of similar value, 9News reported.
"The CEO has Delegated Authority to make decisions of this nature and he chose to exercise that authority," a City of Gold Coast spokesperson told Yahoo News, adding that Mayor Tom Tate supported Mr Baker's move.
The spokesperson confirmed the sinkhole has now been fixed.
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