Update: One man's 'truth' about disaster response rejected

COMMENTS by a Mirboo North CFA member, critical of the State Emergency Service (SES) response to the catastrophe which hit the town last Tuesday afternoon, have been roundly disputed by Leongatha SES Unit Controller, Matt Saarrio.

It was a Sentinel-Times' report in last Tuesday's print and online edition titled 'Magnificent effort by the Leongatha SES, all volunteers mind you, that attracted the ire of the Mirboo North CFA member.

The article reported: Among the first boots on the ground after a catastrophic storm flattened the town of Mirboo North last Tuesday was the State Emergency Unit with direct responsibility for the town, Leongatha.

Mr Saario was quoted as saying: "“We consistently had between 15 and 20 members there on Tuesday and Wednesday, then two crews of 10 on Thursday and one crew or five or six on Friday and Saturday.”

But the local fire fighter took issue with that.

"I'm writing to say that a lot of Mirboo North would take issue with your story regarding Leongatha SES responding to the major storm event in Mirboo North.

"We saw one Leongatha SES vehicle with three members for a few hours on Wednesday. None on Tuesday. Trust me, I asked the ICC where they were and was told they were dealing with the storm in other areas.

“Now I was happy to see them and they put in some great work until they timed out and had to leave, fatigue management is important. We then saw another vehicle from the SES regional office and they pocked around for a few hours and left again.

“We then didn’t see any SES boots on the ground until Friday, just in time for the premier’s visit. We were promised a taskforce on Thursday, it never showed up.

“To be honest there needs to be an investigation into the response to this storm. It’s not boots on the ground where the issue lies. The guys and girls that respond are generally good operators and give their all. It’s the middle and upper level that has made the response to Mirboo North a major mess,” he said.

But Mr Saario said there was a lot going on at the time, mindful that they are the only SES Unit serving in area from Nyora to Mirboo North. Mirboo North doesn't have its own SES Unit, maybe it should.

Mr Saario said that the storm hit Korumburra and Leongatha first, and in betrween tasks forwarded to them by police, they were also supporting a road accident rescue in the Korumburra area at the time when they started to become aware of what had happened at Mirboo North.

"By that stage the SES call centre on 132500 was already getting overwhelmed with calls, not only here in South Gippsland but also across a wide area of the outer eastern suburbs.

"It wasn't until later on Tuesday that we were able to get crews going to Mirboo North and with the Strzelecki Highway blocked by big cypress trees at the Grand Ridge Road turnoff, they came up the Berrys Creek Road where they also had to cut their way through.

"We were dealing with urgent calls along the way for people trapped in their cars, forward to us by police. They may not have seen us but we had crews working in the area in Tuesday evening and we had two crews back up there again on Wednesday."

One issue Mr Saario acknowledged was that he was given the indication that SES command would have relieving crews in the area on Thursday, but apart from a crew flown in from Hume, none of the expected reinforcements arrived until Friday.

Mr Saario said he didn't want to make it a "tit for tat" response but most of the allegations, with the exception of the response on Thursday, are completely unfounded.

However, claims that there weren’t enough “boots on the ground” in Mirboo North until the premier arrived on Friday were aired at a time when Eastern Victoria MP Melina Bath accused the State Government of “failing to confirm when it will roll out a comprehensive clean up package for Mirboo North and surrounding areas”.

She raised the issue in State Parliament this week.

Gippsland Nationals MPs Danny O'Brien and Melina Bath have been pushing the Government for a "head contractor" arrangement to coordinate the massive clean-up of hard building waste, fallen timber and other green waste.

“The community also needs support with dangerous trees and hanging branches, roadside and public land clearing, and other environmental and public safety issues,” said Ms Bath in a statement today.

Under examination from Ms Bath in Question Time, the only commitment the Minister for Emergency Services, Jaclyn Symes would confirm, according to Ms Bath, was “supports would be announced throughout the week”.

Ms Bath said it’s been more than a week since the storm event wreaked havoc on Mirboo North and the surrounding Gippsland communities, yet the State Government has “not got boots on the ground”.

“Residents impacted by natural disasters need clean-up assistance in the days immediately after preceding, not a politically coordinated announcement two weeks later,” Ms Bath said this week.

“Emergency Management Victoria (EMV) which reports to the Minister has overall responsibility for coordination before, during and after major emergencies including management of consequences of an emergency – there is no excuse for lengthy delays in supports.

“Storm damage is not a new concept – any event such as the one that ripped through Mirboo North and surrounds should have immediately triggered a series automated assessments and protocols aimed at recovery.”

Mr O'Brien, who has been pressing the premier and Minister for clean-up help this week, said the Mirboo North community had virtually been going it alone for a week now.

“The failure to announce the formal clean-up and support measures in a timely manner, is now getting embarrassing. Volunteers, South Gippsland Shire, insurance contractors and generous Gippsland businesses will have the job done before the government gets out of bed.

“The community should be receiving practical supports through the state government to aid their recovery – at the moment we have a team of volunteers filling the void of government.

“The Nationals are seeking the immediate release of the needed measures – the time for planning and discussions has passed, our community needs tangible action implemented and further delays are simply unacceptable,” Mr O’Brien.

Our whistleblower was however very complimentary of Mr O’Brien.

“Danny O’Brien is fairly well across the issue as he was in the town on Wednesday and practically every day since. We have talked to him a number of times about it. It was also raised with the premier.”

So, how has the clean-up and response been at Mirboo North? Has the community received enough help? What’s been lacking?