Rivervue flood disaster blamed on ‘recognisable and avoidable’ government failures

During the flood, brown waters flooded through the village, submerging 47 houses and displacing 70 residents.

Among them was Colin Waters, who told a parliamentary inquiry that the incident destroyed his sense of security. On Wednesday morning, Waters said he and his wife, Rae, were left devastated by the flooding and angry they had not been offered any compensation.

“We are happy to have been vindicated in what we said all along, but bitterly disappointed that we have been ignored by the government because we are part of the western suburbs,” he said.

The Ombudsman found that residents of the nearby Kensington Banks estate affected by new flood linings were victims of climate change and modeling delays, while the situation in Rivervue was clearly man-made.

While Baragwanath did not recommend underestimating the compensation, he argued that “it was the fair thing to do in this situation.”

“Climate change is an urgent priority and we need to start preparing for its potential impacts on the places where we live, work, study and play,” he said.

The Allan government has been contacted for comment.

A statement made by the Ombudsman before the flood report was published said that while the government accepted most of the report’s 13 recommendations on better planning and public information, it did not accept the recommendation to compensate flood-affected residents.

“The Victorian government has yet to accept two key proposals focusing on compensation for flood-affected residents and the creation of a resilience programme,” he said.

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“Having put forward the evidence, I hope the Victorian Government will accept our proposals to support people affected by flood risks,” Baragwanath said.

The report also emphasized that high-quality flood risk information should be made available to the public to prevent similar disasters in the future.