Inquiry into the 2022 Flood Event in Victoria

On 22 February 2023, the Legislative Council agreed to the following motion:

That this House requires the Environment and Planning Committee to inquire into, consider and report, by 30 June 2024, on the state’s preparedness for and response to Victoria’s major flooding event of October 2022 (the Flood Event), including but not limited to the —

(1) causes of and contributors to the Flood Event;

(2) adequacy and effectiveness of early warning systems;

(3) resourcing of the State Emergency Service, the adequacy of its response to the Flood Event and the adequacy of its resourcing to deal with increasing floods and natural disasters in the future;

(4) implementation and effectiveness of the 2016 Victorian Floodplain Management Strategy in relation to the Flood Event;

(5) location, funding, maintenance and effectiveness of engineered structures, such as floodwalls, rural levees and culverts, as a flood mitigation strategy;

(6) Flood Event as a whole, including but not limited to, the catchments and floodplains of the —

(a) Avoca River;

(b) Barwon River;

(c) Broken River;

(d) Campaspe River;

(e) Goulburn River;

(f) Loddon River;

(g) Maribyrnong River;

(h) Murray River;

(7) the 2007 decision of the Minister for Planning to approve the construction of a flood wall around Flemington Racecourse and whether the growing impacts of climate change were considered;

(8) the implications for future planning decisions including —

(a) how the Victorian planning framework can ensure climate mitigation is a consideration in future planning decisions;

(b) how corporate interests may influence decision‐making at the expense of communities and climate change preparedness; and

(9) any other related matters.