Mira Mar landslip: Geotechnical report released by State Government, more short-term remedial works on the way

Regional Development Minister Don Punch says discussions will continue with landowners impacted by a Mira Mar land slip as well as key stakeholders following the release of 274-page geotechnical report this week. Landowners on Sleeman Avenue and Anzac Road have been dealing with ongoing impacts of the landslip for almost two years since an initial landslide in mid 2021. In October, the State Government contracted CMW Geosciences to carry out an investigation with the results, including discussion points about long-term remediation works, made public on Thursday. Mr Punch said the Government had received the report only “in the last few days” and it would take time to “absorb the information”. He said the Great Southern Development Commission and Albany MLA Rebecca Stephen would meet with landholders over the next few days to “talk through the report and engage with them in relation to where we go from here”. “It does provide some immediate short-term options, and I have approved those options to occur in terms of managing drainage,” he said. “That will need the support and approval of the landowners, but we are committed to doing that to help get us through the winter period and reduce risk of further slippage. “It does require a long-term solution and we are going to use this time to work with landholders, look through the options, look through the costs and work together with the community to find the best pathway forward.” The report, which is available via the GSDC website, examines the geological factors that have contributed to the landslip as well as the potential for further movement. It states that “movement of the landslide is likely to remain ongoing until remedial works can improve the stability” given the degree of movement since the original landslide event and that movement is still active “even in summer”. It specifies that the “subsurface profile seems to have had some level of control in not allowing the landslide to develop significantly laterally”, but there is “potential for slight lateral enlargement”. Mr Punch said the investigation had not been an exercise in finding fault. “It’s an exercise in understanding the geological nature of that hill and what might have contributed in terms of the geological structure of the area,” he said. He said he had been out to look at the site since taking over the Regional Development portfolio in December and it was “something I’ve been concerned about”. “I do understand how difficult it is for those homeowners to be living with uncertainty,” he said. “We are committed to trying to find a pathway forward, that will address that concern and provide certainty for the future.”