Monday, 11 July 2011

Acting Premier and Minister for Police and Emergency Services Peter Ryan has today released the interim report of the Review of the 2010-11 Flood Warnings and Response.

Mr Ryan said the interim report provided valuable feedback from the community, local government and agencies in relation to the handling of the severe and repeated flood events across Victoria from 2010 - 2011.

"This report is an important part of continuing to enhance Victoria's emergency response arrangements and to building an 'all-hazards, all agencies' approach to emergency management," Mr Ryan said.

Mr Ryan said the report made a number of positive observations about the floods warnings and responses, including that:

• the Victorian State Emergency Service through its volunteers and career staff acted with commitment and professionalism;
• communities worked well to deal with the flood impact and in the recovery phase;
• relief centres provided the right support for affected communities; and
• the emergency funding available to individuals was appropriate and well-managed.

"It also acknowledges that significant work has been done in response to the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission in developing a strategy for integrated emergency services," Mr Ryan said.

"However, it highlights some challenges with respect to Victoria's preparedness for disasters of the scale experienced in 2010-2011 floods and urges the government to consider changes to strengthen Victoria's emergency management framework."

In response to the interim report Mr Ryan said the Coalition Government would in the coming weeks release a Green Paper to consult stakeholders with a view to modernising Victoria's emergency management governance and arrangements.

"The Green Paper process will be wide-ranging and include consideration of factors such as legislative and policy framework, governance mechanisms across government and statewide capacity to deal with large-scale emergencies," Mr Ryan said.

The final report of the Victorian Floods Review will be submitted to the Coalition Government on 1 December 2011.