Rivervue flooded last year. Many elderly residents of the village remain traumatised.
Among his inquiry’s 15 recommendations,Pagone said that Melbourne Water should “investigate how it came to be satisfied with the reduction of the flood levels and finished floor levels at the Rivervue retirement village”.
Rivervue Retirement Village.Credit:Rivervue
The role of the Victoria Racing Club and the 900-metreflood wall it built in 2007 to protect Flemington Racecourse from being swamped by a rising river was also meant to be a key element of the report.
Melbourne,Moonee Valley and Maribyrnong councils all opposed the flood wall,alongside a host of residents of the suburb of Maribyrnong,when it was proposed in 2004. Yet,the Bracks government rammed through the project – without objection from Melbourne Water.
But on this key topic,Pagone made another notable observation.
His inquiry was meant to analyse both whether the Flemington wall exacerbated the flood,and if Melbourne Water did its job in allowing the wall to proceed.
“The material available to us does not enable us to do either,” Pagone wrote. The inquiry could not assess the wall’s impact on the wider flood accurately because work Melbourne Water has commissioned will not be finished until April 2024.
There is some discussion in the report that is useful,particularly around what flood mitigation measures could be implemented – from upstream dams and levees to buyback schemes.
On this,the owners of the 47 Rivervue retirement villas that flooded deserve unique attention. These people clearlylived on a floodplain,even if incompetence by a range of people left them unaware they were at risk.
Loading
After the flood subsided,through no fault of their own,they were left with the long-term value of their homes (leased long-term from retirement village operator Tigcorp) being vastly reduced.
On this point,Pagone’s report makes a crucial point:while planning rules can be changed for future developments to ensure they are not on a floodplain,“there is also a need to manage existing risk”.
What this translates to,he writes,is buyback schemes in some instances. The report points out that,at Rivervue,buybacks may be less appropriate than building levee walls to protect the village.
If nothing else comes from this inquiry,perhaps Premier Jacinta Allan and her ministers will consider even unpopular options to address flooding along the Maribyrnong – including buybacks.
Get the day’s breaking news,entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy.Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter.