During Parliament today, The Nationals’ Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, raised concerns over the Allan Labor Government’s inadequate response to an inquiry into the 2022 floods.
Ms Cleeland put forward a question to the Minister for Natural Disaster Recovery, asking why the government had failed to fully support the majority of recommendations found in the Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee Inquiry into the 2022 flood event in Victoria.
“Thousands of regional Victorians lost everything. They pleaded for real change – yet this government has ignored them once again,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Of 73 recommendations, only 16 have been fully supported by Labor.
“Even fewer will deliver immediate improvements for flood-affected communities like Seymour, Euroa, Nagambie, Murchison, and Benalla.
“Labor’s weak response to the Parliamentary Inquiry’s recommendations exposes this government’s blatant disregard for regional Victoria.”
While raising the question in the chambers of Parliament, Ms Cleeland pointed to a series of recommendations throughout the inquiry that had not been fully supported.
“Recommendation 23—helping high-risk households become flood resilient? Rejected,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Recommendation 27—funding analysis of levee breaches? Refused.
“Recommendation 29—building ring levees after a successful pilot? Ignored.
“Recommendation 39—urgent mitigation measures? Rejected.
“The Allan Labor Government had the opportunity to act but failed due to its inability to manage the state’s emergency response, forcing regional Victorians to pay the price and bear the brunt of its incompetence.”
The October 2022 floods affected a staggering 63 of the 79 Victorian LGAs, with the destruction of more than 1700 homes and damage to a further 2314 residences. It also caused damage and losses to more than 2300 farming businesses.
The full response to the inquiry can be found here.
