‘Nobody erred on the side of caution’: Racecourse flood wall mistakes identified

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A flood absorption adept says excessively small caution was taken erstwhile the Flemington Racecourse flood partition was built successful 2007 and it is astir intolerable to hole mitigation problems connected the Maribyrnong River caused by mediocre decision-making.

Mark Babiser is connected the Melbourne Water reappraisal sheet looking astatine the 2022 floods that drenched hundreds of homes and connected Friday helium told different inquiry, successful authorities parliament, that the mitigation efforts erstwhile the partition was constructed had suffered from a deficiency of caution.

The Flemington Racecourse flood partition kept the way successful cleanable information portion Maribyrnong homes flooded.

“The exertion astatine the clip made it hard for them to beryllium definitive but cipher erred connected the broadside of caution. That is astir apt the biggest mistake,” Babiser told the parliamentary enquiry into the floods connected Friday.

“It’s truly casual to debar flooding by putting things successful the close place, truthful you’ve got to get the determination close astatine the start. And it’s precise hard to hole it afterwards … On a river, it’s astir impossible.”

Former Supreme Court justice Tony Pagone chaired Melbourne Water’s reappraisal of the October 2022 Maribyrnong River flood, which damaged much than 600 properties. He told the enquiry helium was amazed the VRC had not been required to guarantee its works would not harm its neighbours.

Last week, Melbourne Water’s reappraisal sheet released a study that recovered the racecourse partition accrued flooding for 240 homes successful Maribyrnong by up to 3 centimetres during the disaster, including immoderate homes that apt would person avoided inundation if it had not been built.

The study besides identified that the 2.4-metre wall’s associated mitigation works, built by the Victoria Racing Club successful 2007 with Melbourne Water’s approval, had been “largely ineffective” successful 2022.

Pagone told Friday’s parliamentary proceeding that erstwhile helium and chap sheet members asked the VRC if determination was a study connected the mitigation works, “the reply successful a nutshell was ‘no’.”

He recovered it “odd” the nine had not been obliged to analyse the works’ effectiveness and felt determination should beryllium much attraction to governance.

“What does interest me,” Pagone said, “is that determination seemed to beryllium thing successful spot to measure the impact.”

“When [the VRC has] gone to the occupation of gathering a wall, which volition inevitably person an impact, you’d deliberation that governance issues mightiness necessitate that determination beryllium immoderate further requirements to travel up with monitoring to marque definite what it’s sought to achieve, taxable to a condition, is moving successful the close benignant of mode and possibly determination ought to beryllium further obligations imposed.”

Babiser said it would beryllium much sensible for racecourses and different large infrastructure, specified arsenic bridges and motorways, to beryllium built astatine a little level than houses truthful they were inundated first.

“If radical person built their houses astatine the due level, successful accordance with authorities guidance, we should effort and marque definite different uses don’t interaction them,” helium said.

Melbourne Water managing manager Nerina Di Lorenzo, who besides addressed the parliamentary enquiry connected Friday, said enactment was needed to recognize however flood mitigation on the Maribyrnong River catchment could beryllium strengthened, with homes having been deed by an mean of 80 centimetres of h2o during the 2022 inundation.

Di Lorenzo acknowledged the racecourse wall’s mitigation works did not execute arsenic expected but defended Melbourne Water’s determination to green-light the task 20 years earlier.

“The information of the clip said it should person had nary interaction and the mitigating should person offset that,” she said.

The racecourse partition came nether important scrutiny pursuing wide assemblage choler erstwhile the way remained pristine portion residents were wading done their muddied homes successful October 2022.

The outrage flared aft erstwhile VRC main enforcement Dale Monteith praised the flood wall, posting “then and now” pictures of erstwhile flooding astatine the racetrack.

The flood partition astir Flemington Racecourse connected October 14, 2022.

“Pretty blessed that we person near a bequest for aboriginal of Flemington. Was ever going to hap but ignored previously,” helium wrote successful a since-deleted post.

The racecourse partition has been a constituent of hostility for the assemblage ever since plans for it were lodged by the VRC successful 2003.

Residents campaigned against it, arguing that erecting the operation astir a earthy floodplain would propulsion h2o into their homes.

It was built successful 2007 aft Labor’s past readying minister Mary Delahunty overturned a bid by the Maribyrnong, Melbourne and Moonee Valley councils to artifact it.

The flood partition was approved with Melbourne Water modelling showing it wouldn’t summation the hazard to radical and spot if definite compensatory steps were taken.

A VRC spokeswoman said: “Following the decision of the hearings of the parliamentary enquiry successful the 2022 flood lawsuit successful Victoria, the VRC remains committed to moving with Melbourne Water and different applicable authorities successful transportation with this matter.”

A Melbourne Water spokesperson said information collected from the October 2022 flood had helped the government-owned authorization to amended recognize the interaction of the wall’s compensatory works. “We volition present look astatine the champion ways to amended them,” helium said.

Water Minister Harriet Shing’s bureau was contacted for remark but did not respond by deadline.

The Melbourne Water review, ordered by erstwhile premier Daniel Andrews, was criticised past year due to the fact that of a perceived deficiency of independency and the constricted scope of its presumption of reference.

A wider-ranging flood parliamentary enquiry was aboriginal established aft extended reporting by The Age and the backing of Coalition, Greens and crossbench MPs. Its last study volition beryllium prepared pursuing Friday’s hearings.

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