Maribyrnong council has endorsed an inquiry submission to state Parliament regarding the 2022 floods.
In its meeting on Wednesday, May 27, council unanimously approved the submission to investigate what caused the devastating floods.
The submission provides an overview of the flood event as a whole and the impact the floods have had on the community.
Also provided is an overview of a number of areas that should be reviewed to understand which current processes can be improved or changed.
The submission also calls for increased future planning to ensure that flood hazards and the impacts of future events can be minimised.
Mayor Sarah Carter said based on current climate change information , the natural disasters being described as one in 100 events are not as rare as they are made to seem.
“As we are heading into winter now , for those residents that are building , rebuilding and moving back into their homes, every time there is heavy rain major concerns are front of mind,” she said.
“What we are hearing from residents and the community is that their trauma is being compounded by the fact there has been no real talk, particularly when it came to Melbourne Water mitigation measures,” she said.
Cr Bernadette Thomas said there is a lot to learn and be educated on because the floods will keep occurring.
“We know floods are going to become more regular, the predictions show there will be more climate disasters of this type in the future , and we want to be able to assist our residents when they happen again,” she said.
On Friday 14 October 2022, 525 properties in Maribyrnong Township were impacted by the flooding of the Maribyrnong River, the extent of the health, social and economic impacts are still not fully understood.
Jennifer Pittorino
