30th July 2024, 2:34pm
Legislative Council of Victoria, Melbourne
David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan):
I would like to broadly endorse the comments of Mr Batchelor and commend the report to the chamber and to the community. I would also like to express my profound appreciation to the large number of Victorians, both city and country, who generously came forward to frankly tell their stories of the flood and its aftermath; likewise to the range of dedicated first responders, institutional stakeholders and subject experts, and our wonderful secretariat led by Lilian Topic.
The findings and recommendations contained in the final report of the inquiry reflect the overwhelmingly bipartisan approach adopted by committee members.
However, Legalise Cannabis Victoria have misgivings about two matters that I would like to raise. Firstly, the terrible decision-making processes that were reflected in the approval of the Flemington Racecourse flood wall and the Rivervue Retirement Village – while there was no smoking gun of corporate interference, there are still so many unanswered questions about both of these outcomes.
Secondly, in terms of the last-minute release of information from Melbourne Water with their revised flood modelling, communities along the Maribyrnong are shocked and wanting answers. They have a right to those answers, and the committee did not get the opportunity to fully interrogate the information.
In commending the flood report, we note that the forthcoming inquiry into climate change resilience and the 19 October referral to the Ombudsman can and must seek truths and must provide directions forward for affected communities. I know this is an aspiration shared both in this place and in communities across the state.
[ENDS]
