Wimbush was quitting the role “to demonstrate the integrity of the review process”,the statement said.
three hours afterThe Age revealing Wimbush had chaired a 2015 review of flood-prone land next to the Maribyrnong River.
Some of the land that Wimbush in 2015 ruled could be built on had,in 2022,flooded. Forty-seven newly built retirement villas in Avondale Heights on that land were hit by the rising water in October.
While the statement on Wimbush’s departure was sent out by Melbourne Water,which was responsible for the inquiry,it is now clear that its release was only allowed after careful vetting and approval from within the Andrews government,and by the Department of Land,Water,Environment and Planning. We know this thanks to documents released under freedom of information toThe Age.
In allowing Melbourne Water to communicate Wimbush’s departure,the government was trying to ensure it did not bear any responsibility for the wheels coming off a review that Premier Daniel Andrews had set in motion when residents were still piling muddy furniture on their nature strips.
Wimbush is widely respected among planners and lawmakers,and is no stranger to controversy;for years he has been among the most senior members of the state’s Planning Panels Victoria,assessing immense projects including the and the. He was deputy chair of the East West Link assessment that cleared the way for the road. An inquiry into a flood should have been a walk in the park.
Wimbush is no slouch when it comes to probity either:he identified the potential for a perceived conflict of interest weeks before he was announced as chair,and both he and a probity adviser told Melbourne Water that his role in the 2015 planning matter should be disclosed to the public early.
This never happened.
Since bowing out of the inquiry,Wimbush has not been heard from:repeated attempts by this masthead to talk with him have been politely rebuffed.
We do know,though,that Wimbush went without Water Minister Harriet Shing ever having said a word publicly in his defence,as her office declined to comment on that Tuesday in February,perhaps in line with a strategy to put responsibility for the mess onto Melbourne Water.
While the minister was saying nothing publicly,the government was busy behind the scenes tinkering with the statement that announced Wimbush’s departure. Melbourne Water sent it to a ministerial office with the subject heading “FOR APPROVAL”.
In the immediate aftermath of, whether it was appropriate for Melbourne Water to review the floods.
Some felt its role as a planning referral authority meant it may have helped exacerbate floodwaters that hit Kensington,Maribyrnong,Flemington and Avondale Heights hard.
So serious were the probity concerns that Melbourne Water chairman,stood aside from anything to do with that review.
The premier was firm in his defence of the authority. “Let’s wait and see what that review says. I’ve got confidence in them,” Andrews said.
No wonder he had such confidence.
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