THE first block of public hearings to be held by the board on inquiry into the McCrae landslide will commence on Wednesday 7 May and run until Wednesday 14 May at the County Court of Victoria.
The beginning of the public hearings come after a site visit to the landslide affected area on 9 April by the chair of the inquiry, Renée Enbom KC. The News spoke to Enbom about the progress so far, and what is to come. “We’ve been working very hard, sending out notices, requesting information, and reviewing that information when it arrives. Also meeting with residents to understand the information they have supplied, and preparing for the upcoming hearings,” said Enbom.
The inquiry has been tasked with reporting their findings to the state government by 18 June this year. The News asked Enbom her thoughts about the tight time frame. “I expect that date was selected because some people are still, unfortunately, out of their homes,” said Enbom.“So I expect that the government wants this looked into immediately. Looked into as fast as possible, and that why we’ve got the tight deadline.”
Asked how providing the inquiry’s report to the government will enable the eight displaced families return to their houses, Enbom said “The report will identify the cause of the landslide, and it will make recommendations as to what now needs to occur to prevent or reduce the risk of another landslide occurring”. “Those recommendations will then, ultimately, lead to those residents being able to return safety to their homes”.
Asked to reflect on the state government announcement establishing the inquiry that quoted Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen as saying “too many people have been let down” and Member for Eastern Victoria Tom McIntosh as saying “We’ll continue working with evacuated residents to make sure they are supported and back into their homes as soon as possible”, The News asked Enbom if she was receiving feedback from people she was speaking to that they’d had no support from the state government. “Our terms of reference expressly exclude matters that have occurred after the landslide of 14 January,” said Enbom. “So my terms of reference are to look at the cause of the landslide. To look at what could have been done, if anything, to prevent it and make recommendations as to what needs to occur now to prevent another landslide occurring.”
Asked if she considered it strange that the government is able to craft the terms of reference of the inquiry so as to exclude the response to the landslide; perhaps the area of greatest contention with affected residents. “I don’t think it is strange. The two topics are quite separate. They’re related, of course, but quite separate in that one is looking at the cause and what needs to be done to make sure it doesn’t happen again, and the other is looking at the response, after the landslide,” said Enbom. “The government has decided to focus on the former rather than the latter, and I can only assume that is because there is a pressing safety need to make sure this doesn’t happen again and people can get back into their homes.”
The News pointed out that there has been no money provided from the state government to remediate the site, but rather the responsibility has been laid completely at the feet of the Mornington Peninsula Shire council. Asked if she believed the provision of the findings would be an impetus for the state government to assist in the remediation of the site, Enbom said “I don’t know, because that is not part of the terms of the inquiry”.
As it stands now, the Mornington Peninsula Shire may have to perform large scale engineering works that will be very costly and require a high level of expertise. The News asked Enbom if the inquiry came back indicating large scale engineering works were required, did she think the state government would step up and help with that? “Well, you’d imagine at the very least that the shire would ask the state government for support,” said Enbom.
The News pointed out the frustration among the residents and the Mornington Peninsula Shire that the only assistance offered so far from the state government is the inquiry, with no funds being made available to assist affected residents of the shire in their response. “I guess what I was referring to is after the reports are published, you would expect if large scale works need to be performed, the shire would then write to the state government for funding.”
Public submissions closed 30 April but if affected residents still wish to share information with the inquiry, they can email submissions@mccraeinquiry.vic.gov.au
The public hearings will be held from Wednesday 7 May to Wednesday 14 May 2025 will be held at the County Court of Victoria at 250 William Street, Melbourne, and are open to the public.
The hearings will also be live-streamed from the McCrae Inquiry website, www.mccraeinquiry.vic.gov.au.
The transcripts of the hearings will also be available publicly on this website.
First published in the Mornington News – 6 May 2025
