General News
17 June, 2025
Community advocate for levee
In the ongoing effort to protect Carisbrook from flood, Shadow Minister for Water is working alongside a local advocacy group to push for progress.
Earlier this month, the Carisbrook Flood Prevention Association met to discuss their latest community driven efforts to protect the Carisbrook community.
Northern Victoria member Gaelle Broad, who was unable to attend, alongside Shadow Minister for Water Tim McCurdy has been working with the advocacy group for around a year.
Mr McCurdy said he was pleased to be collaborating with the Carisbrook Flood Prevention Association.
“We want to see levee banks taken seriously and some leadership from the Government to ensure communities like Carisbrook aren’t put at unnecessary risk,” he said.
The prior week Mr McCurdy had met with the senior advisor of the Minister for Water but didn’t make much progress due to lacking a clear goal.
“I don’t want War and Peace. I want to go back with the ask,” he said.
The Carisbrook Flood Prevention Association referred to the independent review of the Carisbrook levee, completed by Fred Spain of NSW Public Works, and its recommendations as their goal.
Mr McCurdy is expected to present this report to the Minister for Water some time this week.
“The community are the ones most likely to be impacted by inaction, so I, along with Ms Broad, will continue to work with them in bringing their case before the Minister for Water,” he said.
In parallel to the Carisbrook Flood Prevention Association’s efforts the Central Goldfields Shire Council have developed a Draft Carisbrook Independent Levee Review Implementation Plan to address concerns raised in the Carisbrook Independent Levee Review.
Earlier this year a reference group and tender panel was formed to advise council on the updated Flood Management Plan and Flood Study.
Central Goldfields Shire mayor Grace La Vella said this was a part of council’s continued commitment to flood mitigation in Carisbrook.
“As we develop and implement the updated Carisbrook Flood Management Plan, the newly established Flood Study Advisory Reference Group will support this process by providing guidance, expertise and stakeholder perspectives,” she said.
However, members of the community advocacy group are concerned the completion of the draft implementation plan has been slow with the exact amount of completed works unclear.