SOUTH Australia's Liberal party is calling for an independent inquiry into River Murray flood management as recovery from the summer flooding event continues.
Opposition spokesperson for Water Resources and the River Murray Nicola Centofanti is pushing for a Parliamentary Select Committee to be formed, while member for Hammond Adrian Pederick is calling for an independent inquiry into levee bank management.
The 2022/23 flood was the highest since 1956, inundating thousands of properties and impacting numerous agricultural enterprises.
Ms Centofanti said river communities had endured "the worst flooding event in a generation" and a proper examination of the "life-altering" event was warranted.
"It's crucial this Select Committee operates as a public inquiry, so we can openly assess all the agencies involved in the flood response so they're answerable to the community," she said.
"We should be acknowledging what went well, and those affected deserve to know how and why decisions were made, and what can potentially be done to be better prepared in the future."
Member for Chaffey Tim Whetstone said an inquiry would ensure the recovery grants process, eligibility and uptake would be closely scrutinised.
Emergency Services Minister Joe Szakacs said the state government was already completing a number of internal reviews and enquiries, and while it had no intention of initiating an independent inquiry, it remained "open-minded" to the prospect of a parliamentary inquiry in future.
Mr Szakacs said a review into the flood response was already planned by the State Emergency Management Committee, and a community recovery plan was being finalised for release in early July.
He said with recovery efforts ongoing, opening a parliamentary inquiry immediately would be "premature" and "counterproductive".
"It is our government's view that the work currently being undertaken will deliver the best outcomes for affected communities," Mr Szakacs said.
"Through the response and now into recovery process, the state government and its key departments has worked hand-in-hand with local councils, agencies such as the State Emergency Service and SA Police and other key stakeholders to ensure the best outcome is achieved for those affected."
LEVEE MANAGEMENT UNDER MICROSCOPE
Member for Hammond Adrian Pederick believes an independent investigation into levee bank management is crucial because there are varying opinions on how to best manage the network of government-owned and privately-owned flood barriers.
More than a dozen levee breaches during the peak of the floods in late December and early January left irrigation districts along the Lower Murray inundated.
Mr Pederick said having better access to levees so they could be fortified more easily was important, as was departmental awareness of the location of clay pits for levee build up and repair.
More accurate river height calculations would also assist in better preparation as well, he said.
"Even though I had some complaints about levee bank management during the lead up, while the flood was occurring and post-flood, a lot of property was secured by the timely work of farmers, contractors and volunteers," Mr Pederick said.
"The levee banks are built to different heights along the floodplain which is why it is vitally important we get the feedback from right across the community on what level to maintain the levee banks and also what assets and planning can be in place to top up levees where possible during a flood event."
Dairyfarmers Dino Gazzola and Clem Mason were among a courageous band of locals that worked tirelessly to build up two kilometres of levee bank near Jervois with more than 700 tonnes of clay, and sandbagged between Wellington and Jervois, to prevent millions of dollars worth of flood damage.
The Jervois Irrigation Trust members were full of praise for the Primary Industries department's flood response, but said the Department of Environment and Water, the department responsible for levees, could improve on its communication, and long approval processes to get any work done on government-owned levess.
The pair said efforts to have the Jervois levee reinforced by DEW in the lead up to the early January flood peak were continually hampered by poor communication, poor planning and inaction.
After three months of talks, DEW was on the cusp of starting works but by then they had deemed the levee too unsafe to work on.
It forced locals to take matters into their own hands and even then they were threatened with police action for accessing the levee.
With the livelihoods of 18 farms at risk, 1440 hectares of high-value production land and the Jervois community threatened, Mr Gazzola said the community effort had been absolutely worth it.
He was hopeful government funding recently announced for levee bank management would not be wasted on consultancy, and local knowledge was recognised when considering how to manage the network.
"We've got to keep this momentum going and get banks done while this is fresh in our minds," Mr Gazzola said.
"We can't forget what happened."
Mr Szakacs acknowledged better levee bank management as something the government were working on, saying it had allocated $47 million towards better flood monitoring data, bank management and hazard forecasting.
"The funding will allow for important work to be done to help establish guidelines and standards for levee bank design, construction and maintenance along the River Murray," he said.
"In addition, levee funding allocated to the River Murray will be used to focus on assessment of existing levees along the River and for identification of any infrastructure gaps."
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