Five months ago, they were promised support. But flood-stricken businesses are still waiting

Some businesses hit hardest by Victoria’s devastating floods last October have not received the financial support that was promised more than five months ago by Premier Daniel Andrews and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Business owners have complained of difficulty accessing a $200,000 relief payment and that basic information is not available online. A Victorian government spokesperson confirmed it was considering the eligibility of a dozen businesses.

Aftershock PC co-owner Richard Noble pictured in October after the flood with a pile of damaged stock.Credit: Luis Ascui

Victorian Greens MP Ellen Sandell submitted a question on notice to Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes on March 23 asking when the grants of up to $200,000 would become available to affected businesses. Sandell said her staff also directly contacted Symes’ office but they had not received an answer.

The delay in recovery payments to businesses has coincided with another delay to a key response to the floods – Melbourne Water’s scandal-hit inquiry into the Maribyrnong River deluge that damaged more than 600 properties in Melbourne’s west.

The inquiry has been mired in controversy since it was revealed it would not examine early warning systems or urban planning. Its chair later resigned over a perceived conflict of interest, and a separate parliamentary inquiry was established after the Coalition, Greens and other crossbenchers teamed up to launch a wider-ranging flood review.

In the aftermath of the floods, Andrews and Albanese announced a joint $877 million recovery support package, acknowledging the significant damage to businesses.

“We’re making sure flood-affected business owners and communities have the support they need to rebuild and return to trade as quickly and safely as possible,” Andrews said at the time.

Albanese said: “These additional support packages will ensure Victorian businesses can rebuild with confidence.”

But West Melbourne business owner Richard Noble said he had since been unable to access the recovery grant of up to $200,000 for medium and large businesses or source any information about it.

Noble suffered $1.5 million in damage at his computer-building store, Aftershock PC, when Maribyrnong River floodwaters smashed through windows and destroyed hundreds of pieces of tech equipment on October 14.

Unlike the $50,000 grant announced for small businesses, details about applying for the larger grant do not exist on the relevant government websites. Noble said he had called Business Victoria and the premier’s office but staff said they had no information.

The $50,000 grant, which is easily found on Business Victoria’s website, is for firms with fewer than 20 staff members, meaning larger companies such as Noble’s, which has 71 employees, do not meet the requirements.

Flood damage at Richard Noble’s business in West Melbourne.

Noble said he understood it could take time for the larger grant to be accessible but that he became concerned when he noticed applications for the small businesses grant would close on May 1.

“It’s disappointing,” he said. “We certainly need the funds. It’s been a real struggle to get back on our feet. We haven’t rebuilt our showroom because we’ve had to focus our funds elsewhere… with the understanding this grant could come through.”

A spokesman for Victorian Industry and Innovation Minister Ben Carroll said the $200,000 grant program for medium and large businesses opened on January 31 and that 12 businesses were being assessed for their eligibility.

The spokesman said most of these businesses had qualified for the $50,000 grant and were being evaluated for further support through individualised arrangements.

He did not explain why information about the larger grant and its criteria was absent from the websites of government bodies he referred to, Business Victoria and Regional Development Victoria, but recommended business owners contact these agencies.

Sandell said her office was contacted by constituents who were advised by Business Victoria that it didn’t know about the $200,000 grants or were told to contact their local member.

“Businesses in my electorate lost so much in the Maribyrnong floods and have had to wait months for any help, if they get it at all,” she said.

“It makes me question whether the Labor government is really interested in helping people, or they’re just interested in the politics of looking like they’re helping people.”

A spokeswoman for federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt declined to comment.

Meanwhile, little has been heard from Melbourne Water about its upcoming inquiry into the Maribyrnong River floods.

The inquiry was criticised for excluding an investigation into why the water authority’s early warning system failed to warn residents in the lead-up to the flood.

The inquiry was also derailed after its chair, Nick Wimbush, resigned in February following revelations published in The Age that he had previously supported planning changes that led to a riverside retirement village building homes that were swamped in October.

Melbourne Water staff had pledged to release submissions made by the public and agencies to its inquiry after they closed on March 17. They have yet to do so.

A new inquiry chair has been selected, and a spokesman for the government-owned water authority said that person would be announced soon.

He said submissions would be released by mid-April as some were still being received last week from community members who could not submit online.

“We have been working through each submission to take out personal information, before they are published on Melbourne Water’s website,” he said. “The review is progressing as planned.”

Maribyrnong Council released its five-page submission to the inquiry at a March 28 meeting. In it, the council criticised the narrow scope of the flood review, singling out the exclusion of policy responses and future mitigation measures.

With 525 properties in the suburb of Maribyrnong impacted, the council said it wanted possible flood prevention measures to be identified.

The council’s submission also called for improved and more transparent flood warnings, stating that the information leading up to the flood was inconsistent and meant that “residents were confused and were not sure how they should respond, if they should respond at all”.

And with destroyed homes now able to be rebuilt to their previous floor level under current planning controls, the council said it feared residents would be equally unprepared in a future flood.

“Existing controls are not allowing adequate consideration of future flood events. Council would welcome any review … to ensure they are fit for purpose.”

Moonee Valley Council’s submission was also released last month, calling for Melbourne Water to conduct new modelling to update what land should be considered flood-prone and criticising the inquiry’s scope.

“The review’s terms of reference are narrow and act to the detriment of building a holistic understanding of the whole flood event – from early warning to building back better.”

Both Moonee Valley and Maribyrnong councils emphasised that they had objected to the Flemington Racecourse flood wall before its construction in 2007.

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