Victorian MPs react to 2022 flood report | Stock & Land
The final report into the October 2022 flood event in Victoria.
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00:00Well, the wettest month on record in Victoria had devastating consequences.
00:04The flood event in October 22 was a significant natural disaster and this inquiry by the Environment
00:09and Planning Committee was an important way to give voice to those who had lost so much.
00:13It was also an opportunity to help recommend ways that communities and government could
00:17better prepare for, respond to and recover from future flood disasters and with 90 findings
00:23and 73 recommendations, this report does just that.
00:27It's informed by deeply impactful stories from communities and by expert evidence from
00:32emergency responders, local authorities, climate scientists, hydrologists and urban planners.
00:37It's clear that climate change is intensifying weather events and increasing the risks we
00:40all face.
00:42It's also clear that in the midst of disaster, a community spirit shone through.
00:47People went above and beyond to help their neighbours, mobilising to protect their towns,
00:51reaching out and ensuring that no one was left alone or abandoned in a time of crisis.
00:57Emergency response agencies, ably led by the Vic SES and Local Search and Rescue, played
01:01an exceptionally important role.
01:04Not all the damage done in the October 22 flood event was caused by nature alone.
01:09The impact of the rain that fell was exacerbated by decisions made, often years prior.
01:15Decisions about the shape of the built environment, new physical infrastructure and by our planning
01:19system.
01:20The committee was asked to examine several of these and we found that the Flemington
01:24Racecourse flood wall increased the extent by 1% and the depth by 2% of the flood in
01:29Maribyrnong.
01:30That parts of the Riverview Retirement Village removed from a land subject to inundation
01:34overlay were, in fact, flooded less than a decade later and that releases of water from
01:39Lake Eppalock and Lake Eildon impacted local landholders and communities.
01:45This inquiry sought answers to the same question as many in the community, why?
01:50The report gives a detailed account of the evidence received and I encourage members
01:54and members of the community to read that detailed evidence.
01:57For example, on Riverview, the evidence we received, notably from Tony Pagone AMKC and
02:02his independent review panel, was that mistakes were made in the rezoning process.
02:09One of the most critical roles for government going forward is to accurately and honestly
02:13inform communities about risk, a risk that is dynamic and not static and not fixed at
02:19a point in time.
02:21New flood modelling is being undertaken across all of Melbourne's catchments, informed this
02:25time by climate change.
02:29This new information will inevitably show an increasing flood risk, as we saw recently
02:33in the Maribyrnong catchment and for places like Kensington Banks.
02:38Communities need to be properly supported through this process of updated risk information
02:43and leaders in the community need to show compassion and support.
02:48For 18 months, the Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee has worked on this
02:52report, informed by 880 submissions, evidence at public hearings in Rochester, Echuca, Seymour,
03:00Shepparton and here in Melbourne.
03:02The committee conducted site visits in Maribyrnong, Flemington, Avondale Heights and in Echuca.
03:08On behalf of the committee, I would like to thank all of those who took the time to tell
03:11us their stories and who gave us the benefit of their expertise.
03:17All of this evidence was invaluable.
03:20This final report obviously follows an interim report the committee tabled in northern Victoria
03:24during a regional sitting in Echuca in April.
03:27I would like to thank all of my committee colleagues for their diligent work and the
03:31collegiate spirit shown throughout this inquiry and especially to Ms Terpstra, who served
03:37as chair of the committee until November 2023 and led the committee during the regional
03:43hearings.
03:45The inquiries owe much to the hardworking staff in the committee secretariat, led by
03:49Manager Lillian Toppik and Inquiry Officer Caitlin Connolly, Research Assistant Adeel
03:54Siddiqui, Communications Advisor Ben Kimber, with administrative support by Sylvette Bassey
03:59and the teams in Hansard and Broadcasting, who have helped bring this inquiry to the
04:03communities most connected to our work.
04:06Please accept my sincere thanks on behalf of all members of the committee.
04:12Nothing, President, can bring back the homes and businesses destroyed, nor the lives tragically
04:19lost in this flood event, but honest learning and a determination to enact change is a fitting
04:25and lasting tribute.
04:32Communities across Victoria, particularly in the north, were devastated by the floods
04:36that swept across our state in October 2022.
04:40Two lives were lost, countless homes and businesses were destroyed and thousands were
04:44made homeless and communities are still recovering from the effects of the floods.
04:49The flood inquiry examined the pre-flood risk planning, emergency readiness, early warning
04:55systems, rapid response strategies and resourcing of local emergency services, as well as resourcing
05:00of recovery efforts.
05:02The report makes 90 findings and it is critical of the standard of the emergency preparedness
05:08in Victoria prior to the floods.
05:11The report also makes 73 recommendations to the State Government that will improve community
05:17readiness to react to imminent disasters and to respond more effectively in the wake of
05:26future disasters.
05:28The inquiry received 880 submissions, of which 608 came from northern Victoria and 344 of
05:35those were from Rochester alone.
05:39I would like to thank everyone who made a submission, who gave evidence at a hearing,
05:44who participated in an open mic session or even someone who attended a hearing.
05:50I would like to thank the local government areas who went above and beyond to make way
05:54for us to have our hearings in their communities.
05:59There are 90 findings, there are 73 recommendations and I do implore the government to implement
06:06and fund all 73 of those recommendations.
06:10I would also like to thank our Secretariat of the Environment and Planning Committee,
06:15led by Lillian Topic, who have been absolutely amazing throughout this whole inquiry and
06:21our report is a testament to your professional standards.
06:25Thank you very much.
06:26Lastly, I would like to make a special mention of my two constituents who died in the floods,
06:3271-year-old Kevin Wills of Rochester and 65-year-old Brian Hack of Northalia, and pass my condolences
06:39to their families and friends.
06:44Thank you, President.
06:45I would like to broadly endorse the comments of Mr Batchelor and commend the report to
06:52the Chamber and to the community.
06:54I would also like to express my profound appreciation to the large number of Victorians, both city
07:00and country, who generously came forward to frankly tell their stories of the flood and
07:05its aftermath.
07:07Likewise to the range of dedicated first responders, institutional stakeholders and subject experts
07:14and our wonderful Secretariat, led by Lillian Topic.
07:18The findings and recommendations contained in the final report of the inquiry reflect
07:23the overwhelming and bipartisan approach adopted by committee members.
07:28However, Legalise Cannabis Victoria have misgivings about two matters that I would like to raise.
07:34Firstly, the terrible decision-making processes that were reflected in the approval of the
07:39Flemington Racecourse flood wall and the Riverview Retirement Village.
07:44While there was no smoking gun of corporate interference, there are still so many unanswered
07:48questions about both of these outcomes.
07:51Secondly, in terms of the last-minute release of information from Melbourne Water with their
07:55revised flood modelling, communities along the Maribyrnong are shocked and wanting answers.
08:01They have a right to those answers and the committee did not get the opportunity to fully
08:05interrogate the information.
08:08In commending the flood report, we note that the forthcoming inquiry into climate change
08:12resilience and the October 19 referral to the Ombudsman can and must seek truth and
08:18must provide directions forward for affected communities.
08:22I know this is an aspiration shared both in this place and in communities across the state.
08:28Thank you.
08:29Ms Bath.
08:30Firstly, I would like to thank our Environment and Planning Secretariat, led by Lillian Toppik
08:36and all of her fabulous crew.
08:38They acted with integrity and dedication and professionalism in the face of real human
08:43tragedy and their kindness is well appreciated.
08:46President, I would like to thank every single Victorian who provided feedback, made a submission
08:52and shared their pain and insights at our hearings both regionally and in Melbourne.
08:57When the 2022 floods inundated homes, businesses, shops, schools, community infrastructure,
09:05wrecked roads and ripped through our communities and tragically taking two lives and decimated
09:10stock along the way, we saw the very best of human nature in northern Victoria and in
09:16our Maribyrnong residents as we saw them rally to help each other in a time of crisis.
09:21We saw first responders both coordinated and spontaneous.
09:25We saw local charities and organisations and we heard in our committee the role and failings
09:30of the Victorian governments and its agencies.
09:33The committee heard how residents did feel abandoned quite often by government left to
09:38fend for themselves with inaccurate information and questioning who is in charge in the wake
09:43of this destruction.
09:45The government often spoke about continual improvement.
09:48Well, I believe these 90 findings and 70 recommendations in this report actually go
09:54very much to the pinpoint of how this government can improve and do better for Victorians and
10:00for not only our infrastructure but our environment.
10:04Things that most interest me, of course, is about the preparation for floods, the mitigation,
10:12the warnings, the recovery and resilience building in our communities and I thank each
10:17and every one of our participants for that.
10:20I also want to thank our committee members for being collegiate in their endeavours and
10:25producing a majority report that the Liberals and Nationals felt that adequately reflected
10:30the views and conditions of our communities.
10:38The purpose of the flood inquiry was to examine our state's preparedness and response to
10:41the major floods that impacted Victoria in 2022.
10:45We received 880 submissions and heard directly from those impacted.
10:50We know that precious lives were lost and we heard from elderly residents that woke
10:55up to find water coming into their bedrooms, farmers flooded by water storages released
10:59without warning, annual crops and incomes along with livestock lost in the floodwaters,
11:05inaccurate flood warnings that caused confusion, roads and bridges torn apart and Council
11:11still waiting for funds to repair them, residents sleeping on wet mattresses, homes left gutted
11:17and still waiting for insurance claims to be resolved 12 months on, emergency volunteers
11:22waiting up to six years to do training courses, a shortage of sandbags and critical infrastructure
11:28such as levees, dams and culverts that were inadequate.
11:32Online grant support offered in areas with no internet access and businesses destroyed
11:37by floods overwhelmed by paperwork to prove it.
11:40Many parts of northern Victoria were hit hard by the floods and I want to thank the
11:44members of the committee from all sides of politics and the Secretariat especially and
11:48parliamentary staff for their work during this inquiry and for holding hearings in northern
11:53Victoria in Rochester, Echuca, Seymour and Maroopna to hear directly from those impacted.
12:00It was clear from the stories that we heard that Victoria was not well equipped to respond
12:05to a flood of this scale and there is much work that still needs to be done to help us
12:09be better prepared for the future.
12:12The flood inquiry report is available on the Parliament of Victoria committee website and
12:16clearly outlines the findings and recommendations of the committee.
12:21There are many key priorities and these priorities are identified in the report because people
12:28from across the region shared their stories and I sincerely thank them for doing so.
12:35Now it is up to the government to respond to these recommendations by taking action
12:39and reporting back to Parliament on its progress.
12:42I rise to commend this report and concur with the contributions that have been made by the
12:51chair and fellow members.
12:53I firstly want to thank the community for contributing so extensively to this really
12:58important inquiry, often through ongoing pain and loss, loss of life, property and
13:05ongoing livelihood impacts.
13:08I also want to thank the secretariat and the staff for the incredible work they put in
13:13to make this very extensive investigation possible and members of the Environment and
13:18Planning Committee.
13:19I think it was an example of Parliament at its best when we can work collaboratively
13:24across differences in the best interests of the community.
13:27While the report is indeed extensive, as you will see with the volume of the report,
13:32in many ways it only scratched the surface about what is going on and how we need to
13:37modernise both our planning and our emergency response systems to deal with what climate
13:42change is going to impose on our communities far and wide.
13:47This pertains, for example, to the planning system, which is a complex system but needs
13:54more transparency and accountability because of this inherent complexity within this system.
13:59We see the creep of private and commercial interests in decision-making and when that
14:04intersects with the use of ministerial powers, and we've had examples where ministerial power
14:11led to decisions that were not in the best interests of the community, these things need
14:15to be interrogated.
14:16That pertains to the Flemington Racecourse flood wall, the Riverview Retirement Village.
14:21Much more investigation needs to occur to give comfort and satisfaction and recourse
14:27to those residents who are now left with the impact of a broken planning system and very
14:31opaque decision-making that need greater interrogation.
14:36We also looked at what happens when you start to outsource what were previously in-house
14:41functions of statutory authorities, and we believe that warrants further investigation,
14:45so too the planning decisions around Kensington Banks, which only came to us during the final
14:51moments of the inquiry.
14:52I commend this report to the House.