Thursday, 18 April 2024

Motions

Floods

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (10:40): I move:

That this house acknowledges the October 2022 flood event and the devastating impact it had on communities in Victoria.

In doing so I acknowledge that we are here in Echuca today as part of a regional sitting – a town that I know well. I had a lot to do with the basketball court growing up, as Echuca had some mighty play-offs with Benalla back in the day when I was representing Benalla and visiting Echuca – always a town that I loved to visit as a child and also now as a representative. It is a town that is part of a region that I share with four other upper house members for Northern Victoria, and it is an honour to be able to have every member of the Legislative Council in our beautiful part of the state today. Echuca is of course the host town, Campaspe is the host council, but they do this on behalf of and as a representative of all of the impacted councils from the October 2022 floods. It was lovely to have so many of them at the reception last night, and I do thank the President for acknowledging the broadscale impact across much of northern Victoria in his address.

In commencing debate on this motion, I need to begin with some sadness and a tribute to the two individuals who tragically lost their lives during the disaster. To their families, to their friends, to their co-workers and to their direct communities I offer my deepest condolences.

The effects and impacts of the 2022 floods we know from talking to people – and that is one of the reasons it is important to be here on the ground – are immense and ongoing. The devastating impacts are felt right across regional communities, especially here in Campaspe shire. Many of us, including me as a local member but also as Minister for Emergency Services, have had the opportunity to talk with people over the past 18 months – many hours of acknowledging the hurt, the loss and particularly the efforts of those who have been involved in the immediate response through to recovery, now and ongoing.

I want to put on record, because I know that there is probably a fresh audience today, that the Legislative Council as a group of people has been talking about families who have lost their homes and livelihoods. We have spoken about the loss of natural environment and farming land, and we have acknowledged the communities in our words in Parliament previously. But I do acknowledge that not everyone live streams Parliament from Spring Street, so to be able to have people here in person – and I know probably people tuning in who normally would not – is a great opportunity for us to reflect and repeat a lot of those messages.

As I said, I have spent a lot of time recently visiting impacted communities, particularly Rochester, Shepparton, Mooroopna, Echuca and Seymour. After the initial impacts there was just that slow, dreaded blue flood, as we call it, when the skies are clear but the water is still moving, visiting the communities along the Murray up to Mildura many, many weeks after the direct impacts that were further away. This was something that went on for a very long time. Floods are painfully slow, and the impact therefore can be really devastating both physically but also emotionally when you have got that dread hanging around for such a long time.

Seeing the effects of natural disasters on our communities is always devastating. I think the words of Tara today really brought that home. For me personally, my history is a good reminder. I am well placed to understand many of the impacts because, listening to Tara’s words from the voice of a young person, the exact same thing happened to me when I was in year 9. My family home in Benalla got flooded, which I remembered as I was listening to her words reflecting on the impact that it had on schools. I was in year 9 when we were flooded, but it took many years for my dad, who was a builder ‍– and any child of a builder knows these things take a very long time because he helps everyone else before he sorts out Mum’s kitchen – to renovate the house. I had to move out of my family home in year 12 because that was the time Dad got around to it; I moved in with a cousin so that my studies were not interrupted during those years. I had almost forgotten that until hearing Tara’s story about the impact that it has on young people, and I want to thank the Rochester school community in their efforts to ensure that support could be provided for young people. Thinking about some of the requests and issues that Tara raised as well as those raised at many of the youth forums that we have been having, young people are very clear on what their needs and wants are for recovery, and it is certainly incumbent upon us as MPs to listen to those voices.

Between 12 October and 16 December – coming back to the duration of this event, which I was reflecting on earlier – there were over 17,000 requests for assistance received by Victoria State Emergency Service, and that is the most in their history for a single event. The event severely impacted more than 1000 properties, and over 2000 people accessed emergency and temporary accommodation support. Commonwealth–state disaster recovery funding arrangements (DRFA) were activated for 63 ‍local government areas and one alpine resort – that stat alone demonstrates the geographical extent of the impact of the floods. We saw nearly 1000 water rescues, and I certainly want to thank the staff and volunteers who saved so many Victorians in dangerous situations.

Although there has been enormous tragedy and loss, I am incredibly proud of the communities and their response to the floods. There are a lot of resilient communities. We use the word ‘resilience’ a lot, but you see it when people rally together and really pull each other along. It is not easy; resilience is not something we should take for granted. We often say country communities are resilient. Yes, they are, but sometimes resilience comes with a lot of pain and a lot of effort as well. It is not just a natural reaction; it takes effort and endurance. And we should never criticise those that are not resilient. We should not expect resilience in country communities, although we often see it. I think that comes from the fact that country Victorians are incredibly special people. We see time and time again that they help out neighbours and they roll up their sleeves when someone needs help. As Victorians we should be very proud of the culture that we have in the whole state but is particularly evident in country communities.

I want to thank our emergency services workers, particularly VICSES – obviously they were the primary responder to the floods; on the stats they contributed over 400,000 hours of service – and obviously the CFA, Forest Fire Management Victoria, Triple Zero Victoria, Life Saving Victoria, Fire Rescue Victoria, Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria and the Australian Defence Force as well as Shepparton Search and Rescue.

We also had interstate emergency services lend a hand. I particularly want to thank the Western Australian Department of Fire and Emergency Services, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services and the South Australian Country Fire Service, which were all on hand to respond, in effect repaying a lot of the efforts – it is amazing every time there is a call in from interstate the amount of Victorians that put their hands up to leave their families and go and help interstate neighbours. It is always something that I am incredibly proud of.

I want to thank and acknowledge the councils and their staff and the community organisations and local businesses that have provided and continue to provide support and care following the floods. I want to say thank you to all of my parliamentary colleagues from all sides. I regularly say that emergencies should not be politicised – they are beyond politics – and more often than not that advice is heeded on the whole. I am certainly grateful that members in this house and the other place have ensured that no matter who elected us, the community was front and centre during the response and the recovery. We all have certainly responded to the communities in that way, and I thank all members for that.

You are always at risk of not thanking everyone, and I am sure I will miss some people, but I want to use the motion as an opportunity to really call out some individuals and some organisations. It is like the farewell tour that never ends, but I have got to mention the emergency management commissioner at the time Andrew Crisp – we have spoken a lot about him – an amazing individual who was very valued by communities during that event. Tim Wiebusch, I think, did not necessarily want to be a household name, but he is pretty well known now in Victoria for his calmness, his steadiness and his leadership of the VICSES – an exemplary leader, listening to and engaging with people often during a very terrifying time. I want to extend that thanks to everyone who worked in the State Control Centre. This is an amazing facility that we have in Victoria, with many experts that do an incredible job, from our federal colleagues from the Bureau of Meteorology to our flood modellers and all of those who are there ensuring that we are learning, listening and responding and always improving our response to events. During the time the State Control Centre was activated at tier 3 for three weeks. It is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week centre anyway, but when you are at tier 3 it is full capacity every hour of the day, and that was for three weeks, responding and supporting people during that event.

I would like to reflect on the hard work from day one – probably earlier than day one – of the amazing women at the Rochester Community House: Amanda Logie, Jenna Harvey, Jodi Dobson and Jodie Parker. We know, and we have heard today from Tara and we have heard from others, about the enormous impact on the community of Rochester. We know the stats; there are very few homes that were not impacted, and when you have got a community that small that is an enormous blow. But what a fantastic community. Rochester people are amazing, and they continue to be so . It has been an honour to get to know a lot of people in that community – people such as Leigh Wilson, chair of the Rochester recovery committee. Leigh will forever be the mayor of Rochester or the king of Rochester. He is amazing. I love just walking down the street with him. People stop to say hi and see how he is going. He never, ever rests a moment when there is somebody in his community that needs assistance. I would really like him to take a break at some stage soon, so hopefully that is on the cards, but he is an amazing individual.

I do say it often, and that is because it is absolutely true, but the best thing about being the Minister for Emergency Services is meeting the beyond exceptional and ridiculously modest volunteers in the emergency services family – local treasures like Judith Gledhill from the Rochester SES and anyone in SES and CFA. They are amazing every day of the week. To know that they are there when their communities need them is a great comfort to the communities and also to us who are in positions of leadership who are responding to these events. Without them it would not be possible to support the communities in the way that has been done.

On that note, in terms of Rochester, I will get an opportunity to touch base with them tomorrow as beneficiaries of Labor government investment for a new co-located, fit-for-purpose venue for those organisations, which is a fantastic well-deserved opportunity. Also Shepp search and rescue – I am sure Ms Lovell will go into acknowledging that amazing organisation as well. Shepparton on the ground, in terms of the sandbag operation in that community, was something to see, I have got to say. So just being able to have an organisation that is focused on the Shepparton community, working hand in hand with our other emergency services volunteers, is a great asset for that community. We saw it again in January this year in terms of them just dropping everything and going off to support the community.

There is another person I want to speak about who flies under the radar a little bit – she would probably hate to be mentioned; she could not get along to last night’s event or this week; she is a busy mother of four young children who was impacted by the floods – and that is Eliza Watson. She is known as Podgy Hodgy online. Eliza is a local teacher, and she used social media during the floods to bring a lot of comfort to her community. She is also someone that encouraged people to get involved in the parliamentary inquiry to have their voices heard. She and her husband and her family are proud Rochester people. After the floods I sat with her in her backyard, where she had the caravan set up. They were living with four little kids – I do not reckon I could have done it with one let alone four little kids – in a caravan in the backyard while they repaired their house. It took some time, as we know, and there are lots of people that are still out, but having someone to talk to about their firsthand experiences is invaluable as an MP and invaluable as we make our decisions, in listening to the community, about what is required from us. But as to Eliza, she is compassionate, caring, understanding and incredibly funny – just a wonderful person – and Rochester really benefits from her.

No-one should underestimate Maree Traill’s passion for her community and her commitment to providing accurate information and details to Rochester through the Rochester community Facebook page. I have got to say, I got a lot of my information on contemporary issues directly from Maree. She is another person who, probably more than Eliza, tries to ensure that she is behind the scenes, but she does a power of work for that community. I also want to acknowledge Hannah Fuller, who produced daily newsletters during the flood event.

Other people that have particularly stood out during the period would include the mayors and CEOs of numerous shires. As I said, 63 councils were activated under the DRFA; they were impacted by the floods. Shepparton and Mitchell shire councils and their teams were amazing. They worked to set up emergency relief centres at the epicentre responding to on-the-ground needs, and there were all of the resources and community groups that they drew in as well. I could reflect on every visit to an emergency centre, but for Shepparton, for example, the Red Cross were there, the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria and the government departments – the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing and Centrelink. When someone walked in the door, they were greeted by really friendly security guards who were making sure that people felt safe when they were there to access services, whether they were directly impacted or had been isolated, ensuring that they knew what payments they could get. Just the effort that people put in to ensure that communities felt supported was amazing.

Local councils are at the forefront of the response to emergencies such as floods. It is an appropriate model because it can be quickly implemented and effective and councils know their communities; councillors live in their communities. I want to thank Bendigo council as well for their amazing support for impacted communities outside of their direct footprint, making sure that their neighbours felt supported throughout with their expertise. A large council obviously has more resources, and the fact they could divert them to help others is pretty special. Pauline Gordon commenced her role as CEO of Campaspe days, if not just short of a week, before the flood, so what a star. I first met her at the Echuca Basketball Stadium emergency centre. She hit the ground running. She has been an exemplary country leader and has an amazing team that are focused on recovery – people like Shannon Maynard in the role of director of emergency management. I really want to acknowledge the parks and garden crews from across our council areas. They shifted to an emergency services type organisation in responding to floods as well.

There are a couple of other people, and I probably will miss some, As I said, there were Mitchell shire and Shepparton council, but there were also the likes of Geoff Rollinson, Wayne O’Toole and Lincoln Fitzgerald from other councils that have been impacted. I thank them for their efforts during the floods, and also their communication and efforts for advocacy on behalf of their communities with government and beyond has been very much welcomed.

It would also be appropriate to mention the local businesses and individuals who played such an important and often understated role in flood response. There were the football and netball community groups that pulled up their sleeves. Seymour Football Netball Club were on the ground as soon as they could be – probably before it was technically safe, I have got to say. They did not want to waste a minute, and they wanted to get out and help their community, whether it was the caravan park or the local motel, and ensure that people felt supported. Many, many businesses – like the Elmore Bakery and Monkee & Co here in Echuca, where the government MPs had the benefit of enjoying an amazing banquet dinner last night – were giving free coffees to volunteers and tradespeople that were here. Also evident in a lot of communities were the pay-it-forward initiatives. A lot of people have been coming through town wanting to do their bit and ensuring that people from the community of Rochester, for example, can pop in and get a free coffee because someone has put it on their tab previously. These are wonderful gestures and are really valued by communities who need that little bit of support to brighten their day. It has been great to see a lot of that.

In terms of recovery, we know it is a long slog and there is still a long road ahead, but I am incredibly proud of the work that Emergency Recovery Victoria have done over the past two years. It is a good opportunity to reflect on that. This is a part of government that has been established predominantly to ensure that our recovery efforts are well resourced and supported but also to give us the opportunity to respond to what communities want. In partnership with councils, neighbourhood houses and community members we have achieved a lot, particularly in terms of accommodation and housing and other supports for impacted individuals.

As I think I indicated earlier, over 6000 people were displaced, 748 homes were destroyed and more than 1500 homes were left damaged. Looking out there at the lovely water, it is a great place to live, but there was an impact obviously on many houses right here in Echuca. I think I have spoken about the temporary village at some length, and I could probably spend the entire motion talking about the village at Elmore that gave 216 people a roof over their head. That was a direct response to what the Rochester community wanted. They were very, very adamant that they did not want their community split up. They wanted to make sure that people had an option to stay closer to home and thought that was best. I think having so many people take up the option is testament to the fact that that community knew what they wanted and it was probably right, because that was the level of interest that they got. I had the opportunity to visit the Elmore village many times and speak to people that were just so incredibly grateful to be able to have accommodation and support so close to home.

We also had, with the help of Michelle Osborne, the Centre for National Resilience at Mickleham activated to ensure that we could have accommodation to support flood-displaced people. Importantly there it was about making sure that we had the right supports to provide a really trauma-informed response to people that were requiring not just accommodation but food, health check-ups, education and indeed the ability to travel to and from their communities. That was something that staff at Mickleham were really focused on. It was a great opportunity to work through people’s immediate and long-term needs by having that model.

We also launched the Homes at Home project, which delivered temporary units to properties across Greater Shepparton, allowing flood-affected home owners who wanted to remain on their land to do so while they carried out essential repairs. I think, for example, being able to have a caravan on your property so you could use a kitchen and bathroom while you were fixing yours was something that was a good option for some people.

We know that it has been tough and that in terms of the recovery one of the most frustrating elements that we hear time and time again is insurance. It has been difficult for many people to negotiate with their insurance companies. A lot of people are underinsured, and we are very pleased to see the federal Parliament have an insurance inquiry at the moment – I understand they are in Rochester today hearing firsthand about that – because it is a national issue. After every emergency we know that there are insurance issues, and it is a very complex problem for not just government but insurers and the like to respond to. It is something that I hear time and time again and is something that I am working with my federal colleagues on – ensuring that if there are any fixes that are going to bring about better outcomes for local communities, then that is something we should be focused on.

In terms of recovery, I just want to run through a little bit of the economic stimulus packages that have been available. As we know, there is going to be a fantastic farmers market in the break that people can access. Many of those producers were impacted. It is pretty devastating when you rely on the environment to have that taken away from you by a natural disaster, so having the ability to access grants of up to $75,000 for primary producers, $50,000 for eligible households, and business support, goes some way to helping people get back on their feet after these types of events.

Also, quickly, I do want to acknowledge the contribution of many Aboriginal communities and leaders in response to the recovery efforts, ensuring that we were given good advice on culturally appropriate responses in many instances.

I am very, very proud of this region. Much of northern Victoria is great, but we are in a particularly special part of our electorate today. I am proud to be able to showcase this area alongside my Northern Victoria colleagues. Many, many ministers visit this region regularly, and I want to thank them for that as well. Obviously when you have a flood impact, whether it is housing, whether it is insurance issues, whether it is mental health ministers or health ministers, we have had a large presence in this area from day one, and that continues. Obviously a lot of us are here again as part of the regional sitting, but a regional sitting is not the only reason to visit this area. As a government we have many, many regional MPs and many ministers from country Victoria who love getting out and about as much as possible, so continuing to connect with these communities is something they continue to do. I will give special mention to the Minister for Water, who I think has become an honorary resident up here. She is up here regularly –

Melina Bath interjected.

Jaclyn SYMES: Of course, and Walshy is always welcoming of us and our massive investment in his electorate, so it is always good to see.

Melina Bath interjected.

Jaclyn SYMES: I have delivered his school, his bridge – anyway, I will give you the list later. We want to work with recovery projects, which is a good segue from that. There is always a list, and we will respond and work with locals on their priorities.

I think a major takeaway from the members of Parliament here today visiting the region and meeting with so many amazing people, inspiring community leaders and just humble people that they will come across is to take the opportunity to chat to people. Country people are always up for a chat. They will tell you about how proud they are of their region. But I want to thank them for having us and thank them for demonstrating that in the very worst of times they are a community that come together and respond appropriately. As a government, with the backing of local councils and continued support working directly with community, we are confident that we will continue to overcome many of the challenges that are obviously evident and enduring post the flood. We are here today, and we will continue to come up as much as possible.

Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (11:09): I rise to join in this motion that acknowledges the devastating impact that the October 2022 flood event had on communities in Victoria. In commencing my contribution I would like to start by acknowledging that here in Northern Victoria two members of our region lost their lives in the floods. They were 71-year-old Kevin Wills of Rochester and 65-year-old Bryan Hack of Nathalia, and I would like to extend my condolences to their families, their friends and their communities.

The effects of the floods certainly were widespread right throughout Victoria. Sixty-three of Victoria’s 79 local government areas, plus the Falls Creek Alpine Resort, suffered during those floods. Every local government area in my electorate of Northern Victoria Region was affected by the floods, but it was here in Campaspe that the floods had the most devastating impact. That was reflected in submissions to the Environment and Planning Committee’s inquiry into the 2022 floods, with 608 of the 880 submissions coming from northern Victoria: 429 from Campaspe shire, 36 from the Murrindindi shire, 27 from Greater Shepparton, 25 from Gannawarra, 22 from Loddon, 19 from Bendigo and 16 from Seymour in the Mitchell shire.

For the first 10 years of this century we saw very little rain in northern Victoria. In fact we were told by the so-called experts that our new reality was to expect very little rain, and it was speculated that our dams may never fill. The next decade proved them wrong, with rainfall returning and dams filling, but it was when the rain started falling in early October 2022 that we really felt the rain. It did not just rain, it poured for days on end, and we started to wonder if it would ever stop.

Unfortunately, our communities were not the only ones who had not expected this downpour. Water authorities had our storages almost full and had to increase releases from the dams, and that flooded some landholders, with very little or no warning at all. Unfortunately, that was the experience of those in the Upper Goulburn area just below the Eildon Dam, who were the first to be flooded, at around 3 in the morning, with no warning whatsoever of the increased releases from Lake Eildon.

Seymour was the first major town to experience flooding when the Goulburn peaked at 8.26 metres in the early hours of 14 October. The October 2022 flood was the second worst in Seymour’s history; the worst was in 1916. Water flowed through the central business district of Seymour and the residential areas, and it inundated homes, businesses and the community’s main sporting facilities. More than 254 homes and businesses experienced above-floor flooding, hundreds of kilometres of roads were significantly damaged and Seymour’s SES received 254 calls for assistance.

There is no doubt that Rochester was a community that suffered the greatest impact during the floods, and we heard this morning from Tara Atley her firsthand account of her family’s experience during those floods. It is estimated that 90 per cent of the town of Rochester, both homes and businesses, experienced above-floor flooding. But as the locals will tell you, 100 per cent of the town was affected, because those whose homes were not flooded suffered feelings of guilt for being among the lucky few that did not experience the flooding.

The Campaspe River peaked at midnight on Friday 14 October, and unfortunately the water took several days to recede. The Rochester community largely managed the response themselves. The SES unit received 350 calls for assistance and managed to operate even though their own facility and the CFA station had been affected by the floods. Community members all pitched in and helped each other to rescue stranded residents and to get in and strip carpets and furnishings as soon as possible. At one point they watched as defence force trucks drove through their town heading to Echuca but did not stop to assist them in Rochester. There has been no official count done of the number of inundated homes in Rochester, but the best estimates are those the community have put together themselves, and they have now counted more than 1000 homes that suffered above-floor flooding.

Rochester is an amazing community that has come a long way but that also still faces many challenges. It is estimated that 18 months down the track over 30 per cent and probably closer to 40 per cent, or 600 to 800 residents, are still not back in their homes. It is also thought that about 200 homes have still not had any or have had very little work done to them, and in trying to rebuild, the residents have faced many challenges, including difficulties dealing with insurance companies and difficulties obtaining tradespeople. With so many areas affected by flooding, it is almost impossible to get local builders due to the sheer volume of work across so many local government areas. This has led to some out-of-town, less than reputable companies taking advantage of vulnerable residents. These dodgy operators have overcharged and underdelivered and provided poor workmanship. I have even heard a story of one resident not being able to fully open the oven door as the distance between the wall and the island bench is so narrow the door hits the bench on the other side of the kitchen. It is sad to think that some people would take advantage of others who have already suffered so much.

Another sad reality is that some homes in Rochester may never be rebuilt. Residents do not have the capacity to take on the volume of work needed on those homes, but in the meantime they cannot sell them in the state that they are in, and therefore they cannot re-establish themselves elsewhere. This is where governments need to provide additional assistance, whether that be through some sort of buyback scheme or something else. Government need to find an answer for these people.

The Rochester community are rightly concerned that floods will affect them more often, and they have asked the government to consider reducing the level at Lake Eppalock to 90 per cent. Unfortunately, when the Minister for Water visited the community last July she told them, very bluntly, no. She did not even offer to explore whether the option was possible or whether it would assist or not, she just said, bluntly, no. This left the community extremely angry.

Rochester is fortunate to have some amazing residents who have formed the Rochester recovery group. It is led by Leigh Wilson, and I thank the entire committee for their work that they do. However, the government need to know that Rochester is still hurting and needs ongoing assistance with mental health support and financial counselling. Most of this support is due to finish in June, even though experts tell us that ongoing support is needed for a minimum of three years post a disaster. Funding for these vital services in Rochester must be extended.

The swimming pool in Rochester has traditionally been an important gathering place for residents during the very hot and long northern Victorian summers. Unfortunately the swimming pool was destroyed during the floods, so the residents have been through the last two hot summers without a pool. Funding must be provided to help the Shire of Campaspe to build a new pool to replace the old Rochester pool that was destroyed in the floods.

Whilst all eyes were on Rochester, the Goulburn River flood continued downstream, inundating communities along the way – Murchison, Toolamba, Mooroopna and Shepparton in the City of Greater Shepparton all suffered widespread damage. In Shepparton, the Goulburn peaked in the early hours of 17 October. The official measurement at the gauge was 12.03 metres, 3 centimetres below the 1974 peak. But the gauge was actually moved during the 1980s from upstream of the bridge to downstream, and if the gauge had been in the same spot as it was in the 1974 floods, the peak would have been measured at 12.10 metres, which is 6 centimetres higher than the 1974 floods. Approximately 4000 homes were isolated or inundated in Greater Shepparton, with Mooroopna suffering the biggest impact. The Shepparton Search and Rescue Squad received 980 requests for assistance; this was the most of any organisation in the state. The Shepparton Search and Rescue Squad did an amazing job leading the volunteer response. Some of those members were cut off from their own homes and could not return to their own homes for several days during the floods, but the volunteer response was actually coordinated out of the search and rescue squad headquarters and led by Nacole Standfield. That volunteer response was absolutely amazing in the Shepparton community.

The Mooroopna CFA provided the core response in their community, and they did this despite the CFA station being inundated, several of their members having their own homes inundated and one of their members losing his home to a fire during the floods. Our volunteer emergency services, whether it be SES, CFA, search and rescue squad or coast guard, all did an amazing job in every town right throughout the flood region. I thank our volunteers. They have my ongoing gratitude for what they do for us during emergencies and what they do for us each and every day of the year. Almost 5900 homes in the Mooroopna, Tatura, Toolamba, Dhurringile, Arcadia and Murchison area were without power for several days due to the flooding at the Mooroopna substation, which demonstrates a need to flood-proof some of our major utilities infrastructure to prevent this happening in the future, and some of that work has actually been carried out in Mooroopna.

At the peak of the floods there were over 800 road closures in the Goulburn–Murray region, and one of the major concerns for the Greater Shepparton community was the closure of the Peter Ross-Edwards Causeway, which forms part of the Midland Highway and is the major connection between the two towns of Shepparton and Mooroopna. The only other connection, Watt Road, which includes a single-lane, low-limit bridge, is well and truly under water in moderate flood levels. With the causeway closed, Mooroopna, Tatura and other communities west of the Goulburn were cut off from the hospital and other services located on the Shepparton side of the river. The causeway closure also caused a paralysis of freight mobility on a major freight route. The 2022 floods demonstrated the need for the government to get on with prioritising the Shepparton bypass, which would provide a genuine second river crossing built above flood levels.

On 17 October a decision was made by Emergency Management Victoria, the lead agency for floods, to construct a levee to protect Echuca. The levee was constructed within 48 hours and protected the majority of the town, but approximately 190 properties on the wrong side of the levee were inundated here in Echuca. The levee was quite controversial and divided some members of the community. This demonstrates a need for further work to be done on flood mitigation measures and plans here in Echuca.

As I said at the beginning, the devastation in northern Victoria caused by the 2022 floods was widespread. Agriculture Victoria estimates that some 500,000 hectares of farmland were affected and approximately 12,230 agricultural properties were impacted by flooding across northern Victoria. 17,500 livestock were dead or missing and the flooding affected 5017 residential and commercial buildings, leaving 976 buildings uninhabitable, 569 habitable with damage and 3472 with minor damage. There were 4419 kilometres of public roads that were damaged by those floods.

So where are we now 18 months after the floods? Many Rochester residents are still living in sheds and caravans, waiting for insurance settlements or access to tradesmen or because they cannot afford to rebuild their homes. To fully appreciate where Rochester is on the road to recovery, you need to drive through the town at night, because that is when you will really appreciate the number of empty homes with no lights on. There are homes in my own street in Shepparton that are empty awaiting renovation, and sadly there are now places in my neighbourhood where friends once lived that are just vacant blocks and remain a constant reminder of how devastating the October 2022 flood was. This is replicated in every street in every community where homes were inundated in October 2022. Our roads are still a disgrace. Repairs have not been done to adequate standards, and in some areas the same strip of road has had to be repaired several times but has never been repaired properly. There are still road closures, speed reductions and traffic light controlled areas of roads that have not been repaired since the October 2022 floods.

In the Indigo shire the Rising Sun bridge on the Beechworth-Wodonga Road at Wooragee was only just reopened last week after it was damaged in October 2022, but there is still a diversion on the road where the culverts at Star Lane have not been repaired. This is an arterial road that is the responsibility of the state government. In the north-east there are more traffic lights on country roads than there are in the city of Wodonga. Some of the roads that still have traffic lights controlling vehicles include the Beechworth-Wodonga Road at Star Lane in Wooragee; the Murray Valley Highway at Tallangatta East – there are two sets of traffic lights on that road; the Omeo Highway at Tallandoon; and the Granya Road at Granya.

When I speak with local governments, they all express their frustration at the slowness of road reopenings and repairs. They are sick of travelling on dangerous pothole-ridden roads, and unfortunately some of the smaller shire councils do not have the capacity to fund the repairs themselves. And if they do, they fear they may not be reimbursed for the work they undertake. The Municipal Association of Victoria has been critical of the slowness of the state government’s process to reimburse payments to councils for work undertaken. Even the mayor of Greater Shepparton was doing media last week about the amount of funds the city has not been reimbursed to cover roadworks that they have undertaken.

Drainage is another area that councils require assistance with. The floods have highlighted the need for investment in better drainage in many areas. And while we are talking about ‘better’, it is appalling that the state has not been prepared to fund betterment of infrastructure. In order for local councils to access funding, they have had to build back exactly as things were before, which in many cases will be a waste of money because roads, bridges and other infrastructure that were inundated or washed away during the floods will be inundated or washed away again, whereas if betterment funding was available they would rebuild to a better standard above flood levels.

I have a series of photographs of roads in the Mitchell shire that prove this point. The photographs show the state of the road after the 2022 flood, the repaired road and then the state of the road once again damaged post the January 2024 floods. The roads damaged in 2024 are exactly the same roads that were damaged and repaired from the 2022 floods. Again in the Shire of Mitchell, the Bidstrups Bridge at Sugarloaf Creek was damaged in 2022, repaired and then damaged again in January 2024. Local government want funding for betterment, and they must be funded to ensure that they can do the job once and that it will last past the next flood event.

Local councils have also reported that the amount of reporting and data required has been onerous, time intensive and expensive. They have also found it difficult and expensive to access contractors to undertake work due to the sheer volume of work and having to compete with each other for contractors. Some have been forced to redirect their own workforce from other areas to undertake some of the work, but if they do this they cannot claim funding to cover it.

I want to thank local governments from right across the region who provided leadership during the floods and who have led the recovery efforts. They deserve better than the treatment they are receiving from the state government, and the funding for projects must flow to them more quickly.

I also want to thank community and neighbourhood houses from across the electorate and particularly make mention of two: the Rochester Community House led by Amanda Logie and the Mooroopna Education and Activity Centre led by Jan Phillips. Both these organisations have gone above and beyond in their efforts for their community.

I also want to thank community organisations and service clubs that have pitched in with the sandbagging, clean-up and recovery. There are too many to name, but three football–netball clubs do deserve special mention, and they are the Seymour Football Netball Club led by Gerard O’Sullivan, the Mooroopna Football Netball Club led by Bill Dowling and the Rochester Football Netball Club led by Justin Cleary. These three clubs have not only pitched in, they have been the glue in these communities since the floods.

I could go on and on, but I will stop there, other than to ask the government: when the rain fell in January this year, did the government really think Victorians felt we were better placed to deal with floods than we were in October 2022? I can tell you that the answer from northern Victorians is a resounding no.

The PRESIDENT: Can I acknowledge some members of our Assembly: Mr Peter Walsh, who of course is the member for Murray Plains, and Mr Tim McCurdy, who is the member for Ovens Valley nearby. We welcome them in the gallery.

I kind of feel a little bit cheated, because 2 minutes ago the cookery students from Echuca College were in the gallery and I was going to give them a shout-out, but I am sure we will all during the day air our appreciation for what they have prepared for us, which has been fantastic.

Business interrupted pursuant to resolution of Council of 21 March.