Victoria Opposition leader Matt Guy grabbed the tongs and manned the barbecue at the Shepparton Search and Rescue Centre on Tuesday, as part of his visit to Greater Shepparton to assess flood damage and check in with local authorities handling the flood response.
After visiting a number of local businesses and residents in the morning, Mr Guy said the community efforts he had witnessed around the city had been “overwhelming”.
“We’re seeing a community in one of our largest regional cities pull together; you see people, not just from Greater Shepparton, but right around Victoria coming in to help out. It’s magnificent and it’s overwhelming to see the spirit of this city come together,” Mr Guy said.
“It’s fabulous to see so many people come and try and help, they are doing the best they can, and people obviously want to make sure they can get on with their lives.”
With approximately 4000 homes across Greater Shepparton affected by flooding, Mr Guy called on Premier Daniel Andrews to declare the floods across the Goulburn Valley a national disaster, so that further state and federal support could be unlocked.
“I know the mayor and others are starting to think of what comes next and that’s the clean-up and what it may look like,” Mr Guy said.
“That’s why I hope that we have a national disaster declaration in the City of Greater Shepparton and some of the surrounding areas that allows council, the state to avail federal support in the district — and it’s clearly in the Goulburn Valley that it’s going to be needed.
“It’s going to be important to do that — I hope that’s taken up as a serious suggestion because I think these communities will need not just that support now but they’ll need to know what comes next.”
Mr Guy spoke to concerns around significant flood damage to Victorian roads, following the state government pledge of a $165 million road relief package on Monday.
“I drove up today, I didn’t chopper myself in, I drove up and saw the state of the Goulburn Valley Hwy,” Mr Guy said.
“I think many people in this community have seen the state of their roads, and they know that floods haven’t caused a lot of the damage that exists on the Goulburn Valley Hwy today.
“What that means is that aside from issues related to the floods — because there will be damage and I do welcome government support and I think people of the Goulburn Valley would too — but it’s clear that it’s not the start of the problem. The problem has been that case for many years and our roads have been in poor condition for four, five years now, and they need a lot more money to fix it.”