Nick Wimbusch stands down as Melbourne Water’s Maribyrnong flood review lead

The man leading the review into the Maribyrnong flood has stepped down – a decision backed by Victoria’s Premier.

A tavern lies damaged by floods in the Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong on October 15, 2022. Picture: William West

Daniel Andrews says standing down the head of Melbourne Water’s review into the devastating Maribyrnong floods was because of a perceived conflict, and not an actual conflict of interest.

Melbourne Water on Wednesday morning confirmed that Nick Wimbusch had stood down amid reports about his involvement in past planning decisions.

The Premier said he supported that decision.

“He’s made a judgment that he won’t be involved and I think that’s the right thing to do,” he said.

“This is a very, very significant flood event and I’m confident that all of those involved will be looking to learn from this flood event and make sure that our response to the next natural disaster we face is better.”

In a statement, a Melbourne Water spokesperson said Mr Wimbusch was “upfront from the outset about his previous roles”.

“Mr Wimbusch’s appointment met all probity and appointment criteria and he was eminently qualified to undertake the role. This position was confirmed on review by an independent probity advisor before his appointment,” the spokesperson said.

“Melbourne Water is determined to demonstrate the integrity of the review process, we have taken this step mutually with Mr Wimbusch. This is necessary so as not to distract from the important work of the review.”

A new independent lead chair for the Maribyrnong flood review will be appointed in the near future.

“Work on the review will continue in the meantime and Melbourne Water encourages members of the community to participate by offering submissions and sharing their experiences,” the spokesperson added.

“The review is a critical first step in understanding what caused and contributed to the flood event and we remain focused on the current submissions process and hearing from the community.”

Water Minister Harriet Shing defended the inquiry but said it was ultimately a matter for Melbourne Water.

“I’m not going to run a running commentary on the nature of this review. The word independent is really important here,” she said.

“It needs to be able to take place without any interference from government.”

Ms Shing refused to say if the government would agree to support calls for a separate parliamentary inquiry into the 2022 floods.

Opposition leader John Pesutto said the Andrews government needed to explain the conflict of interest.

“This has been a mess from the get go,” he said.

“It’s important that the Andrews government, particularly Minister Harriet Shing, come out and explain what went wrong, and how this conflict of interest was allowed to occur.

“It’s something that we’ll be pursuing.

“We’re concerned that Melbourne Water, by its conduct to date, doesn’t seem to get how important it is that whoever looks into this has to be entirely independent.

“We’re seeing Melbourne Water spinning its way out of this, saying that this has been cleared and there was no issue with the appointment of Mr Wimbusch.

“If he was appointed and he was removed so quickly, clearly there was a problem.”