Wednesday, 21 February 2024

Flood mitigation

Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (18:11): (729) My adjournment is for the Premier, calling for action on behalf of residents of Huntly impacted again by floods in January this year. I recently held a round table to hear from local residents. After successive years of flooding they are tired of talking about the issues and want to see action. These are residents like Debbie, whose home was flooded and whose yard was destroyed; residents like Kylie and her family, who worked hard to finally buy their first home three years ago only to watch it flood for a third time; those with a mortgage who need to pay for flood insurance, whose premiums have jumped from $150 to $750 each month; long-term residents of Huntly, like Elsie – floodwaters rushed through her backyard and large tree branches fell, and despite her age she got out a chainsaw to clean up the mess; and community advocates like Lindsay, who has contributed countless hours working with local council developing flood mitigation plans for the area but remains frustrated that nothing has been done. Residents who have lived in Huntly for many years have always known that they live in a flood plain and water passes through, but extensive housing development in recent years has seen the water levels rise, and locals believe the flood maps are outdated. What was once a one-in-100-year flood has now happened three times in three years.

Bendigo is a city in a forest, and rapid population growth has seen developers look to flood plains like Huntly, where the land is already cleared and level, making subdivision a whole lot easier. Areas that once had dams have now been replaced by housing estates with limited places for the water to go. Council budgets and expenditure on drainage infrastructure have not kept pace with rapid population growth. Back Creek is full of debris and sediment, restricting the flow of water. Locals report it has flooded six times in 14 years. Bendigo Creek is the same, with levee banks left to fall apart. New developments are going in without proper drainage and retention basins quickly overflow. Local drains are not large enough to cope with increased water flows, and a drainage maintenance program operating once every four years is not often enough.

These are big issues that will take a combined effort from local council and the state government to fix. Locals are tired of the studies and plans, and they do not want a reply that simply passes the buck. The Premier will be aware of the Huntly train station, a brand new station built by the state government out in the middle of nowhere that was flooded in January. The state government has spent nearly $50 million building new train stations in Huntly, Goornong and Raywood to provide facilities for a growing community, yet they have failed to do the proper planning, mitigation and drainage infrastructure that these communities need. I call upon the Premier, who is also the local member, to work with the City of Greater Bendigo to address these concerns and allocate funding in the coming state budget for better planning and drainage infrastructure in Huntly.