Fronting up: Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan answers some hard questions while in Rochester.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
ABC Radio host Fiona Parker has grilled Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan on the slow progress made in Rochester one year after the floods.
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Ms Parker was interviewing the premier for her program in Rochester on Friday.
She questioned the decision of water authorities not to release water from Lake Eppalock.
Ms Allan said many factors needed to be considered when it came to Lake Eppalock as the water stored there was critical to farming operations.
“That decision needs to be taken based on the advice that the Minister for Emergency Services, Jaclyn Symes, receives from the appropriate water authorities,” she said.
The hot seat: ABC Radio host Fiona Parker put the hard questions to Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan. Photo: Aidan Briggs
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
She pointed out that the Bureau of Meteorology recently announced that extreme weather was declared across much of Australia.
“We are seeing with the predictions of the El Niño that we are looking at drier seasons ahead of us, and that’s where our water storages are managed, not just in ordinary times, but also during another El Niño,” Ms Allan said.
While the premier is dealing with flood victims, questions regarding the cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games continue to be raised with the state’s leader.
Former premier Dan Andrews in July scrapped the games, which were to be held in regional Victoria, citing cost blowouts.
The initial estimate of the cost to taxpayers was $2.6 billion.
The final estimate of hosting the 12-day event was between $6 billion and $7 billion.
Grilling: ABC Radio host Fiona Parker Interviews Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan in Rochester. Photo: Aidan Briggs
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
“Our focus was to deliver the games in line with the agreement that had been reached with the Commonwealth Games Federation,” Ms Allan said.
“Ultimately, the government had to make a decision based on the advice given to the Department of the Premier and cabinet, which indicated that the costs were continuing to go up.”
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