The CEO of Insurance Australia Group, Australia's largest personal lines insurer, Michael Hawker sees the possibility of significant damage from a storm surge on the Gold Coast.

IAG have spent considerable effort in studying the effects of climate change since 1999 when a massive hail storm hit Sydney and cost the company (then NRMA) millions of dollars in claims. So they know what they are talking about.

The REIQ also thinks it is a good idea to start planning for the worse.

Our mayor wants the weather experts rather than an insurance company to tell him so. In fact weather experts are saying just that.

We need to put pressure on the Beattie government to go beyond rhetoric and do something about tackling global warming and climate change. And we need to pressure the Liberal Party into at least having the right rhetoric (that would be a start), and hopefully developing meaningful policy. Unfortunately, the Nationals will never see past their own very uninformed and narrow view of the world to embrace serious environmental policy.

Vote 1 for the Greens and tell the old parties to get serious about controlling greenhouse gas emissions.