For many regional communities, the road to recovery after the October 2022 floods has been long and arduous.
State Member for Northern Victoria Gaelle Broad has urged Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes to take action to help towns rebuild and recover, claiming communities are missing out on crucial support from the state government.
Seventeen months after the floods, issues ranging from temporary housing and insurance claim complications to ruined roads, culverts and bridges continue to impact communities.
Ms Broad recently attended the 135th anniversary of the Salvation Army in Rochester, which recognised locals’ great efforts to support those impacted by the floods.
“Nearly every home in Rochester was flooded and there are still hundreds of people living in caravans and sheds using a portaloo every day,” Ms Broad said.
“According to their website, Emergency Recovery Victoria was established to help towns rebuild and recover. I ask the minister to get staff on the ground to door-knock Rochester and help those who need it.”
Ms Broad said the Loddon Herald recently reported that multiple layers of red tape were holding up 900 flood recovery projects in the Loddon Shire.
“Just 10 per cent of projects — totalling $30 million — have been approved to fix damaged roads, culverts and bridges,” she said.
“There has been no approval since last October, and the shire will not be able to complete the works by the June 2025 deadline.
“The council has been questioned at every stage and continually asked to provide more evidence.”
Ms Broad highlighted the importance of the government working alongside local councils to support communities, following concerns from residents of Carisbrook that works to levees and culverts had made the floods worse.
“I call on the government to work with the local council to support the community and undertake an independent assessment of the Carisbrook levee plan,” she said.
Ms Broad pointed out that the Victorian upper house would sit in Echuca on Thursday, April 18.
“Members of this chamber will visit for a day, but those who live in these communities live with the impact of the floods every day,” the Nationals MP said.
“While this government spends billions of dollars on city-based projects, I ask the minister to consider these smaller rural communities and provide the people and resources they still desperately need to recover and rebuild.”