State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell spoke in parliament on Tuesday, October 15, to mark two years since the devastating floods that wreaked havoc and destruction across Victoria in October 2022.
She called on the government to complete the recovery and implement flood inquiry recommendations with more urgency.
Ms Lovell praised the resilience of local communities that were hit by the floods, and gave a reminder that the recovery was far from over.
“This week marks two years since the October 2022 floods that devastated Victoria,” she said.
“Many Victorians have moved on and think that the recovery is finished, but it’s not. For far too many people in flood-affected areas the process of recovery is far from over.
“In my own street there are two homes that have not yet been repaired and three homes that have been demolished and not rebuilt.
“For me it is a daily reminder of how slow and inadequate the recovery has been.”
Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes welcomed the report released earlier this year from a parliamentary inquiry into the flood event.
“Many affected people have contributed to the inquiry and shaped its recommendations,” she said.
“While we have six months to formally respond to the report, I have already referred its recommendations to the Inspector General for Emergency Management so I can get expert independent advice on what more we can do to help flood-affected communities.”
In towns that were the worst affected, such as Rochester, Seymour, Shepparton and Mooroopna, hundreds of residents continue to suffer as they are still not able to return to their homes and remain displaced, living in caravans or temporary accommodation.
For many residents, the mental health battle continues.
According to Ms Lovell, Rochester Community House has had to step in and fundraise to provide mental health counselling for locals.
She said this was because the state government was not providing funding for one-on-one counselling.
She also highlighted that Rochester was about to face its third long hot summer without a swimming pool because the Victorian Government had still not committed funds to rebuild the pool after the previous one was damaged in the floods.
Two years after the floods, and three months after the final report of the flood inquiry was tabled, Ms Lovell said the government had still not responded to any of its recommendations or announced any emergency management reforms.
“Flood-affected communities deserve better and government members should hang their heads in shame,” she said.
State Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland weighed in on the situation and said she still receives correspondence from residents dealing with the fallout from the devastating event.
“Locals from affected areas are still feeling the impact of the October 2022 floods,” she said.
“This event had a profound impact on several of our communities, with farms, houses, businesses, and crucial support services all suffering major damage in towns like Seymour, Euroa, Nagambie and Murchison.
“The road to recovery has been long, but it has been made significantly more difficult by Labor’s lack of action when it comes to addressing persistent issues that emerged in the aftermath of the floods.
“On top of this, I’ve had conversations with people that are still struggling with insurance challenges or rebuilding their business, farm, or home.”
Ms Symes said they had delivered more that $2.5 billion of support to help locals, businesses, farmers and not-for-profits affected by the 2022 flood with the help of Commonwealth.
“This important work has seen Emergency Recovery Victoria helping more than 2,100 people find accommodation if they were unable to stay in their home,” she said.
“We've also established a new Mental Health and Wellbeing Local in Greater Bendigo, Loddon and Campaspe.”
“We know recovery from this awful event will take some time -- only the Allan Labor Government will help communities on this journey instead of using them to score political points.”