Last night, Budget Battlers won the Ratings for Nine, bringing in a Total TV National Reach of 1,468,000 and a Total TV National Average Audience of 584,000.
When floods devastated Taree, Dave and Jen were left picking up the pieces. The Budget Battlers showed up to rebuild not just their home, but their happiness.
Also on Nine, A Current Affair detailed another flooding-fueled nightmare, as runoff from a troubled development turned a suburban backyard into a river rapid.
The episode won a Total TV National Reach of 1,438,000 and a Total TV National Average Audience of 968,000.
The homeowner, David Harbord, has been left trapped during severe storms. Harbord lives over the road from the $2-billion Wilton Greens development in Sydney’s south-west. He said the situation has become “a joke,” as the governing authority Wollondilly Council suggested he should hire an engineer to fix his property.
Chinese developer Risland has approval to run a pipe under Picton Road to disperse its storm water into a natural waterway that goes through five properties which have existed for decades. Harbord said he’d been fighting for a solution for four years, and at one point the council and the developer removed up to 14 tonnes of sediment that had washed into his property.
“It can be pretty scary when it rains. The creek that runs through our home, which is supposed to be a creek, just becomes a torrent,” Harbord said.
Risland said it was complying with the council’s requirements and “basin upgrade works are due to begin immediately” to replace the current setup.
An environmental professor, Ian Wright, raised concerns after he inspected the basins, claiming the bulk of water ends up in the Nepean River, where many go swimming.
“This is a really popular area for a lot of locals to go swimming. I wouldn’t put my head under the water after seeing those videos. This is not managed well at all, it’s a serious issue, and it needs to be addressed,” he said.
Over on Seven, Home and Away raked in a Total TV National Reach of 1,401,000 and a Total TV National Average Audience of 801,000.
Channel 10’s Big Brother won a Total TV National Reach of 983,000 and a Total TV National Average Audience of 540,000.
