Government planning decisions leading to the go-ahead for Rivervue Retirement Village lacked transparency, a report into 2022’s Maribyrnong River floods has found.
Parliament’s Environment and Planning Committee’s report into the flood found poor record keeping meant the planning process lacked transparency.
Greens spokesperson for planning Samantha Ratnam welcomed the findings of the report but warned it “only scratched the surface”.
“We need a deeper interrogation of Labor’s complex and opaque planning system which is leaving communities vulnerable because of poor planning decisions,” Ms Ratnam said.
The Greens have since successfully referred Rivervue’s planning process to the Victorian Ombudsman.
Residents at Rivervue were evacuated when the Maribyrnong burst its banks early on the morning of October 14 in 2022, inundating 47 homes and causing $7 million damage.
It was later revealed by The Age the village only got the go ahead for development after owner Tigcorp lobbied state government agency Melbourne Water to change its projections of how a one in 100-year flood would impact the property.
Further investigation found Tigcorp had not sought sufficient insurance and failed to tell residents.
Management at Rivervue declined to comment when contacted by The Westsider.
The EPC’s report found there was no evidence of undue commercial influence on the decision to approve Tigcorp’s request.
It also found locals believed the decision had been dubiously made.
New analysis by Melbourne Water presented to the inquiry found the benefits of flood mitigation earthworks near the village had been misjudged due to outdated modelling.
New Melbourne Water modelling released in April this year concluded parts of Rivervue are within a 100-year floodplain and will be at higher risk of inundation as the impact of climate change plays out.
The EPC report stopped short of recommending buybacks despite hearing from multiple experts of the benefits of the move.
The final report warned buybacks would be “likely to cost the Victorian Government a considerable amount of money and be contentious within communities”.
It instead recommended a plan to raise or retrofit properties affected by the 2022 floods.
The Age has reported some Rivervue residents had been unable to sell properties since the floods and may take legal action against Tigcorp.
Green’s MP Ellen Sandell said she expected the Ombudsman to report on its investigation into the Rivervue planning decision within about 12 months.
The state government is due to make its response to the flood inquiry report by January 31.
