By Matthew Sims
The Victorian Greens are launching plans to initiate a parliamentary inquiry into last year’s Maribyrnong River floods when Parliament returns.
The Greens’ are saying their proposed inquiry will have a particular focus on the 2007 decision to approve the construction of a flood wall around Flemington Racecourse, despite council and community protest.
Victorian Greens deputy leader Ellen Sandell said the construction of the flood wall allowed the Flemington racecourse to remain dry while houses surrounding it were inundated during the October 14 flood event.
“The flood wall around the dry racecourse, while homes went under water, demonstrates very clearly who the government is willing to protect and who gets left behind when it comes to climate change,” she said.
“This kind of thing can’t be allowed to continue, and the community are rightly outraged that the Labor Government seems to want to sweep this under the carpet.”
Melbourne Water has appointed an independent expert to lead a review into the Maribyrnong River flooding event, which is open for public consultation until Friday, March 17.
On Friday, October 14, 2022, significant flooding occurred within the urban catchment of the Maribyrnong River, impacting more than 500 properties across Maribyrnong and causing extensive damage.
The State Emergency Service (SES) issued a major flood warning about 2.30am on October 14 as a result of significant rain in the upper ends of the Maribyrnong River catchment coinciding with high tide.
According to the Greens, the Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee’s inquiry will seek to explore whether vested interests, like those of the Victorian Racing Club (VRC), influenced that decision, and whether the growing impacts of climate change were considered before the wall’s approval, as well as whether the SES has sufficient resources to deal with extreme weather events and whether early warning systems are adequate.
Ms Sandell said Melbourne Water’s review launched earlier this week was too limited in scope.
“I’m worried the Labor Government is using this limited inquiry to deflect blame, and avoid any discussion of what governments have done wrong or should do better,” she said.
“With disasters like floods becoming more common with climate change, the community deserves a proper inquiry into how we can protect lives, livelihoods and homes during climate disasters, rather than just protecting vested interests.
“We urgently need a broader-ranging inquiry into these floods to explore how a decision like this could have been made in the first place, and so we can avoid it happening again.”
