General News
11 March, 2023
Inquiry chance to ask questions
A VICTORIAN Parliament inquiry into October’s flood emergency needed to look at the adequacy and effectiveness of early warning systems, Northern Victoria MP Region Gaelle Broad said. The Legislative Council’s Environment and Planning Committee...
A VICTORIAN Parliament inquiry into October’s flood emergency needed to look at the adequacy and effectiveness of early warning systems, Northern Victoria MP Region Gaelle Broad said.
The Legislative Council’s Environment and Planning Committee will report on the preparedness and response to the floods.
Ms Broad told Parliament: “Evacuation orders were issued for towns like Seymour, Shepparton and Rochester.
“But in other areas people wrongly assumed that the water levels would not get higher than the 2011 and for some it was too little, too late.
“There were night evacuations in some areas, and in the inquiry we will ask why. I heard that there were restrictions on text messages for community meetings. You could send them for bushfires but not in the case of the floods.
“We also need to consider the emergency response. Certainly the experience of the 2011 did assist the understanding and response this time around. We need to look at the mitigation measures. We should consider the benefits of ring levee programs for regional houses outside of country towns to help protect those areas.
“The committee will be able to conduct a broad review of flooding and flood preparedness across Victoria and deliver findings and recommendations to improve our response by June 30, 2024,” Ms Broad said. “We need to hold committee hearings in northern Victoria in the towns that were affected.”