The Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee has granted a two-week extension for the people of Rochester to lodge a submission to the Inquiry into the 2022 Flood Event in Victoria.
Representatives from the committee delivered an information and workshop session about the inquiry process in Rochester on Wednesday, 14 June and advised attendees that they, and their families and friends, could lodge a submission up until 28 June, even though submissions closed on 5 June. Submissions by others will also be considered on a case-by-case basis.
People in attendance heard that of the 700 submissions so far lodged to the flood inquiry, about half were from members of the Rochester community. The typical number of submissions lodged to a parliamentary inquiry is between 200 and 300.
Campaspe Mayor Cr Rob Amos encouraged those in Rochester who had net yet lodged a submission to consider doing so by the extension deadline.
“Although people across Campaspe Shire were impacted by the flood event, Rochester and surrounds were the hardest hit,” Cr Amos said.
“More than 800 homes were either damaged or uninhabitable, and most residents are still not back in their home some eight months after the event.
“It’s vital that the voices of Rochester are heard. While statistical data about asset losses provide one side of the coin, it’s only through the lived experiences of local residents, businesses, farmers, teachers, community groups and others impacted by the flood that the human toll can be truly understood.
“The Inquiry needs to hear your story; no matter what the topic is and even if it’s only a few lines.
“The more submissions the committee has to consider, the more informed its recommendations will be to better protect our communities from such disasters into the future.”
Rochester residents can lodge a submission by 28 June, either online here or via email to [email protected].
