Background to gippsrecovery.com

The Gippsland region's diverse environment and topography contributes to its vulnerability to environmental and weather extremes. Over time, an emergency response has been needed to address the impacts on the community and the environment when significant events occur.

gippsrecovery.com is a Gippsland initiative to assist local communities in their recovery from emergency events. The gippsrecovery.com website was initially established by the Gippsland Bushfire Recovery Committee early in 2007 in response to major bushfires that threatened and burnt significant tracts of crown land and private property in the Gippsland region in December 2006 and continued at varying levels of emergency through until March 2007.

The aim of the website was to provide information and advice to individuals, farmers, businesses, the community and local agencies in recovering from the impacts of bushfires.

Since the bushfires, Gippsland again experienced a significant emergency when in June 2007 a severe flood/storm event occurred, which affected a number of communities in Gippsland. The Gippsland Flood Ministerial Taskforce was established immediately following the June floods.

In June 2007, the Gippsland Flood Recovery Committee was established to specifically deal with the different but related responses by government, local authorities and community agencies to recovery from flood and storm.

Following the fire emergency that gripped Victoria in early February 2009, the Committee is now working again across the Gippsland region to support the local community. This website has been updated to reflect the latest situation.

While emergency events such as fire, flood and storm have had an enormous economic and community cost in Gippsland, increasingly dry weather patterns across Victoria have had significant impacts. Poor rainfall over a sustained period has placed much of the state in drought. While not immediate emergency in nature, drought continues to have an impact in many areas of Gippsland.

In both fire and flood/storm not only were houses, farms and businesses impacted, but also enormous environmental consequences have occurred across a wide area of Gippsland.

Each municipality in Gippsland is now subject to “Exceptional Circumstances” declarations in relation to drought.

At its meeting in October 2007, the committee resolved to create one Gippsland Emergency Recovery Committee to deal with bushfire, flood and drought. As such, gippsrecovery.com website addresses issues related to drought, bushfires and flood/storm.

In the first instance, people seeking financial or material assistance are advised to contact their local council to find out what assistance they may be eligible for, website details are provided below.

• Shire of Wellington – www.wellington.vic.gov.au
• East Gippsland Shire Council – www.egipps.vic.gov.au
• Latrobe City – www.latrobe.vic.gov.au
• Bass Coast Shire – www.basscoast.vic.gov.au
• Baw Baw Shire Council – www.bawbawshire.vic.gov.au
• South Gippsland Shire Council – www.southgippsland.vic.gov.au

Further information can also be obtained through the following:

• www.dhs.vic.gov.au/emergency
• www.ruralfinance.com.au
• www.centrelink.gov.au
• www.cfa.vic.gov.au
• www.ses.vic.gov.au
• www.dse.vic.gov.au

The gippsrecovery site is managed and maintained by the Department of Human Services, Gippsland Regional Office. Alterations or queries in relation to the site may be directed to the Deputy Regional Recovery Manager on 5177 2639.