Hotel Rochester’s dining room fell silent when state Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell took her place at the front of the room — the stand-in guest speaker of the Rotary Club of Rochester’s Community Chat breakfast last Thursday.
The usual clinking of knives and forks on plates was absent as, like any political representative that speaks about future flood mitigation, she had the full attention of the early morning risers.
Mrs Lovell offered her services as a speaker once the convenor of the breakfast, Rochester Rotary icon Heather Watson, was made aware that Plan A had fallen through midway through last week.
“I was coming to the session this morning to hear first hand what people wanted. If anyone wants to speak about flood matters, speak to me after the meeting,” she said.
“People are often confused about what role I play and where I fit in. The role is like that of a state senator, but they don’t call us that.
“There are five of us, but it is a massive area.”
She explained that she had shared in the heightened sense of concern for her constituents from the moment every dam in the region started to fill.
Mrs Lovell is a member of the Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee’s flood inquiry panel, which will hold a series of public hearings in flood-affected Victorian communities.
Among those — at the top of the list, in fact, if the response to inquiry submissions is any indication — is Rochester.
Fittingly the town will host the first of the hearings, on Wednesday, August 23, with Echuca the following day, Shepparton on September 13, Seymour the following day and Melbourne on October 11 and 12.
Mrs Lovell explained that the August visit would be the first of two by members of the Legislative Council, which would soon announce the location of its regional Victorian sitting.
The upper house members will meet in a flood-affected community, most likely Echuca or Shepparton given the lack of infrastructure to host such an event in Rochester, but Mrs Lovell said she expected Rochester would play a role in that visit.
Firstly, however, Mrs Lovell said the flood submissions needed to be read, posted online and then assessed by the flood inquiry committee.
“I’ve read 600 submissions, many of them from Rochester,” she said.
“After speaking to Amanda (Logie, Rochester Community House manager) yesterday I understand people are still still in the relief stage, not yet in the recovery stage.”
With the unavailability of the scheduled Campaspe Shire recycling team member, Mrs Lovell stepped up to speak — having already planned to be at the breakfast and with several appointments later in the day with constituents and community leaders.
After a warning from award-winning immediate Rotary past president Heather Watson that the breakfast was not a political rally, a full room heard Mrs Lovell fire broadsides at the state government and Goulburn-Murray Water about the current concerns of her Rochester constituents.
“We (upper house members) can’t control the government, but we can keep putting the pressure on them,” she said.
“I’m really here to hear from you, for you to interact and tell me what needs to be done.
“I think they (G-MW) are hiding a bit behind the legislation. To have facilities like Lake Eppalock more than 98 per cent full, in June, is not management.”
Passionate questions of Mrs Lovell and explanations from the floor about the circumstances of people in the town led her to explain her own flood experience.
“The Goulburn River is my back fence,” she said.
“I left the night before the floods because I had to be out to do my job, and I came back eight days later to a couple of flooded sheds and some water under the house.
“Not nearly as devastating as what Rochester experienced.”
Shepparton-based Mrs Lovell will be back in Rochester not only for the August 23 hearing, but most likely in October or November for the regional Victorian sitting of parliament.
Mrs Lovell is one of five northern Victorian members in the Legislative Council (Jaclyn Symes, Labor, Minister for Emergency Services; Gaelle Broad, Nationals; Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell, One Nation; and Georgie Purcell, Animal Justice Party are the others), which has 40 members serving four-year terms, elected from eight electoral regions of Victoria.
While handballing the subject of insurance compliance to Federal Member for Nicholls Sam Birrell, Mrs Lovell did suggest people take advantage of the support that was in place for Rochester in regard to timely responses to their inquiries.
Both the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and ARC Justice are available to people at the Rochester flood hub.
Insurers are also in Rochester this week (from Monday to Thursday) for face-to-face sessions, while an ongoing commitment from Anglicare has given people all-important access to financial counsellors.
While Mrs Lovell’s presence was celebrated, the visit of Victorian Water Minister Harriet Shing a day earlier didn’t receive the same celebration — her inability to act on the Lake Eppalock storage status falling flat with those at the breakfast.
Mrs Lovell said she understood residents’ concerns, with history suggesting that a second flood event often followed hot on the heels of an initial event.
“I remember 1974-75 and understand why communities are nervous. The government needs to do something,” she said, agreeing with the breakfast consensus that just because the water had receded, it was by no means life as usual.
Mrs Lovell heard from two emotional Rochester residents, teacher and fourth-generation community member Shelly Nichol, along with the more recently arrived Jan Childs.
“In 2011 we were told something would be done,” Mrs Nichol said.
“The trauma of these floods is life-threatening. It breaks my heart watching a community fall apart because people are leaving.”