Urgent post-flood support sought

FOLLOWING the aftermath of the October floods on the township of Rochester, where approximately 90 percent of homes were inundated, damaged, or isolated by the disaster, the Liberal Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell has used the most recent sitting of State Parliament to call on the Andrews Labor Government to deliver more support for residents.

In three separate speeches over the duration of the sitting week, Ms Lovell called on Labor to provide across the board support to residents of Rochester, in particular more mental health services, more housing support and additional consumer affairs workers to assist with insurance claims.

Ms Lovell explained how the people of Rochester are facing many challenges as they recover from the catastrophic flood event, the number one issue for the community is the deterioration of the mental health of many residents, with too many people suffering due to a lack of qualified mental health practitioners in the region.

Ms Lovell urged the Government needed to ensure additional

Mental health professionals are immediately provided on the ground in Rochester and called on the Minister for Mental Health Gabrielle Williams to deliver the services desperately required by many residents. Ms Lovell also called on the Minister for Consumer Affairs Danny Pearson to deploy more officers from Consumer Affairs Victoria to assist residents to navigate the complex insurance claims to repair their homes and businesses damaged by the devastating flood. She spoke of how many residents had complained about a lack of communication from insurance companies, technical language from companies that is not easily understood, and insurance companies exerting pressure on clients to accept cash settlements to settle claims, usually to the financial detriment of the client.

Ms Lovell said it was important that the rights of clients were supported, particularly while recovering from such a traumatic event such as a flood and asked that a team from CAV be deployed into the town to provide advice and assistance to those that need it.

Kim O’KEEFFE MP STATE MEMBER FOR SHEPPARTON DISTRICT

It has been a busy time in Parliament. During my first week, I presented my inaugural speech. In my second parliamentary sitting last week I raised some important issues as well as acknowledging some of our wonderful locals who have been recognised for their outstanding community contributions.

Verney Road Funding commitment

I have called for the Minister of Education Natalie Hutchins to fully fund stage 1 and commit to Stage 2 funding for the development and relocation of Verney Road School.

Flood relief payments

I also called on Government Services Minister Danny Pearson to explain when critical flood relief payments will be made to businesses and community members who have applied, and qualified for, the flood relief funding but have not yet received payments months later.

Inquiry launched into October floods

The Nationals passed a motion in the Legislative Council requiring the Environment and Planning Committee to report on the preparedness and response to the October 2022 Victorian Floods.

Oam

Congratulations to the Medal of the Order of Australia, Australia Day recipients Ted Davis from Mooroopna, Judy Hanlon from Shepparton and Heather Brown of Numurkah. All of which have contributed significantly to their communities.