Big Weather Committee members, alongside Kyabram Residents & Ratepayers Action Group Incorporated members, met with Nationals candidate for Murray Plains Brett Hosking to tackle the town’s ongoing drainage issues.
Big Weather Committee member Renee Pichler said the meeting was prompted by recent high water levels across town, which caused water to spill onto walking tracks and overflow from the lakes at Kyabram Fauna Park.
“This has been going on for too long. Frustration has bubbled over, like the lake into the road,” she said.
“It’s the perfect time to bring up this issue with Brett as we’re going into an election.”
Mr Hosking said his briefing session with the Kyabram Development Committee and Ratepayers’ Association was an informative discussion which has armed him with the knowledge to represent the town if elected.
He said Kyabram’s badly flawed drainage system has plagued the community for years — and can be fixed.
“Ultimately, it is a Campaspe Shire and Goulburn Broken CMA responsibility, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be in there helping the people whose homes and properties are being flooded over and over,” he said.
The meeting follows a significant flash-flooding event in March, which prompted residents to form the Big Weather Committee in response to the town’s drainage issues.
At the meeting, Ms Pichler handed Mr Hosking a report from a recent town meeting held to discuss the March floods, which have left at least three local households unable to return to their homes months later.
“Everyone understands a real flood, but no-one should have to live in fear of every major rain event knowing the storm drainage system is going to fail, and this might be the time they go under,” Mr Hosking said.
“Even if no-one else is really listening, I am.”
Residents made their message clear to the Nationals candidate: foundational infrastructure must take priority over future town developments.
“I keep hearing from people that nobody wants to know about drainage, that drainage is not sexy,” Ms Pichler said.
“I’m determined because the drainage structure is the foundation of all infrastructure in our town.
“If we can’t get that right, it doesn’t matter what redevelopments happen down the track, we’re always going to have these same issues.”
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