‘More broad thinking’ required by govt to mitigate against Vic flooding: Nationals MP

Nationals MP Sam Birrell says the government need to have “more broad thinking” about how to mitigate against floods in Victoria because of the “real challenge” they pose to residents in flood-affected towns. The Prime Minister has promised financial support for flood-affected communities across Victoria. Anthony Albanese made the announcement in Melbourne on Wednesday after visiting other storm-affected regions on the Gold Coast and Far North Queensland. “I think, as government and policymakers, we need to look at what ways of mitigating against these flood events for townships, particularly like Rochester,” Mr Birrell told Sky News Australia. “And things that we've probably previously considered you wouldn’t do for a one-in-100-year flooding event. “Well, these things are happening more often now, so we really got to have a bit more broad thinking about what we could do … to mitigate against these flood events.”