The disputed Echuca levee was one of the key issues raised by community members during Premier Daniel Andrews’ visit to Echuca.
Brett and Anna Thomson, who live on the wrong side of the levee, met Mr Andrews at their restaurant, Monkee and Co.
The husband-and-wife duo said they found Mr Andrews to be approachable and felt that he, Emergency Management Victoria Commissioner Andrew Crisp and State Member for Northern Victoria, Attorney-General and Minister for Emergency Services Jaclyn Symes took what they said on board.
The Thomsons raised their concerns for the people on the wrong side of the levee, saying there had been no ‘’compassion’’ from the council.
“You can’t say okay, you had your evacuation warning, it’s a flood-prone area so now you’re on your own,” Ms Thomson said.
“You can’t just leave people, knowing that there is people there and not do anything to help them.
“No-one’s checked in on them. It’s just wrong.”
Mr Thomson said he told the premier that the council needs to stop burying their heads in the sand and be accountable.
“I said ‘the biggest thing I’ve learnt in life, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I’ve always found that if you own up to them, it goes away quicker,’” he said.
Spending about an hour with the premier, the pair also discussed the overwhelming generosity of the community and how to build a more flood-resistant community once floodwaters recede.
Mr Thomson highlighted that there should be local wardens for each area in the community.
“I said to them ‘it should be like a game of footy, you’ve got to have your coach, then your captains and then you’ve got all your players,’” Mr Thomson said.
“The sandbagging teams were really well organised and I said ‘we had all the players, but we just didn’t have the coach, no-one was leading, there was no leader.’
“Locals need to have an input into whatever happens in the future.”
Njernda authorities also took the opportunity to speak with the premier about the need for tailored recovery support to get Aboriginal families and businesses back on their feet, the challenges for Aboriginal people who don’t have the funds to get contents insurance and the devastating impacts of homes being lost at Cummeragunja.
Ms Symes said the purpose of their visit was to thank first responders and hear from displaced community members temporarily residing in the Echuca Evacuation Centre.
“Some are concerned about how the insurance process will run,” she said.
“But all in all, everyone seems really well supported at the relief centre. The council are doing a fantastic job connecting people to the supports that are available, particularly financial support and by helping them with registering for temporary accommodation.”
Ms Symes revealed she has encountered her own tragedies when it comes to floods.
“My family home was flooded in ‘93 when I was 15,” she said.
“It’s the after that I really, really remember, the clean-up, the ‘who needs help and who’s lost what?’”
As to the key priorities within the recovery stage, Ms Symes said physical clean-up is always the first priority because it’s an enormous task.
“That involves making sure people’s houses are cleaned out and are deemed safe, making sure there’s no mould, making sure people aren’t trying to move asbestos on their own and removing the debris from the streets,” she said.
“But then also really making sure that support services are around. Mental health and community wellbeing is also a really important part of the recovery.
“It’s about making sure that people know that there are people thinking about them and caring about them — that’s really important because once this kind of immediate response settles down, that’s when the trauma and hardship can really set in.”
Ms Symes advised they will be applying a community-led model to the recovery process, meaning they will be delivering support based on the advice of the community.
One of her major priorities has been setting up the Elmore Events Centre as a temporary accommodation village.
“I’m working with the Federal Government to ensure that our packages continue to roll out in support of that but we’ll have a little bit more to say on that soon,” Ms Symes said.
Ms Symes said although it will be a long road to recovery, she is heartened to see people working together to protect and rebuild the community.
“There’s a lot of people from different parts of Australia putting their hands up to come and help this community and more importantly give the emergency service personnel from this community a break,” she said.
“Sometimes we have to be pretty firm with them to take a break because they don’t want to let their community down. They’re incredible people but making sure that we are looking after the welfare of our first responders is really important.”