Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (14:35): I would firstly like to thank our Environment and Planning Committee secretariat led by Lilian Topic and all of her fabulous crew. They acted with integrity, dedication and professionalism in the face of real human tragedy, and their kindness is well appreciated. I would like to thank every single Victorian who provided feedback, made a submission and shared their pain and insights at our hearings both regionally and in Melbourne.
When the 2022 floods inundated homes, businesses, shops, schools and community infrastructure, wrecked roads and ripped through our communities, tragically taking two lives and decimating stock along the way, we saw the very best of human nature in northern Victoria and in our Maribyrnong residents as we saw them rally to help each other in a time of crisis. We saw first responders, both coordinated and spontaneous. We saw local charities and organisations. And we heard in our committee hearings the role and failings of the Victorian government and its agencies. The committee heard how residents did feel abandoned quite often by government, left to fend for themselves with inaccurate information and questioning who was in charge in the wake of this destruction. The government often spoke about continual improvement. Well, I believe the 90 findings and 70 recommendations in this report actually go very much to the pinpoint of how this government can improve and do better for Victorians, not only for our infrastructure but for our environment.
The things that most interest me of course are about the preparation for floods – the mitigation, the warnings, the recovery and resilience-building in our communities. I thank each and every one of our participants for that. I also want to thank our committee members for being collegiate in their endeavours and producing a majority report that the Liberals and Nationals felt adequately reflected the views and conditions of our communities.
