These comments follow on from a discussion in Parliament regarding the Victorian Government’s response to an inquiry into the October 2022 floods.
State Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland raised concerns in Parliament to the Minister for Natural Disaster Recovery Vicki Ward on February 20.
“Thousands of regional Victorians lost everything,” Ms Cleeland said.
“They pleaded for real change — yet this government has ignored them once again.”
While the Victorian Government has implemented a new support program for flood victims, Ms Cleeland said they failed to support recommendations found in the Legislative Council Environment and Planning Inquiry into the 2022 floods.
“Of 73 recommendations, only 16 have been fully supported by Labor,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Even fewer will deliver immediate improvements for flood-affected communities like Seymour, Euroa, Murchison and Benalla.”
The Victorian Government launched the Connecting Community to Builders program to offer support to those impacted by the floods, by linking Victorians with tradespeople who can assist in repairing or rebuilding their home.
“Working with the Commonwealth, we have delivered more than $2.5 billion of tailored support to help those affected by the 2022 floods,” a Victorian Government spokesperson said.
“We are focused on delivering support for homeowners to rebuild their homes and updating planning controls to ensure there’s better information about flood risk areas.”
During Parliament on February 20, Ms Cleeland addressed some of the recommendations part of the inquiry, which had not been fully supported by the Victorian Government.
Of these include Recommendation 23, of helping high-risk households to become flood resilient, Recommendation 27, of funding the analysis of levee breeches, Recommendation 29, of building ring levees after a successful pilot, and Recommendation 39, of implementing urgent mitigation measures.
The Victorian Government said it was doing what it could to ensure communities were well-prepared for natural emergencies.
“We’re supporting new flood studies across the state, to make sure our local councils, planners and communities are using the most up-to-date information in their decision-making,” the spokesperson said.
“Last year, we passed legislation that ensures climate change is considered at the earliest point in the planning process, making Victorian homes more resilient to flood events.
“The Victorian Government supports investment in the construction of levees that demonstrate public benefit and will prepare guidelines to facilitate the private construction of ring levees that provide flood mitigation benefits for private assets.”
The October 2022 floods impacted 63 of the 79 Victorian LGAs, destroying over 1700 homes and damaging an additional 2314.
More than 2300 farming businesses were also affected by damage and losses.
32°C