Independent candidate for Page, Dr Hanabeth Luke, has demanded greater community consultation and disaster planning after her calls for support ahead of the catastrophic weather event went unanswered, leaving thousands of locals without homes.
‘Nobody envisaged a flood like this, but the terrible truth is that we could have been more
prepared if we’d had a good modelling system in place,’ she said.
‘I called the Recovery Support Officer from the National Recovery and Resilience Agency, and asked how I could prepare for the floods. I was informed that they were not on alert, and that it was just a matter of “sitting and waiting as there are no evacuation orders in place”.
‘I contacted the MP for Resilience and Emergency, Sophie Cooke. She did not respond.
‘Just a day later, Lismore was under five metres of flood water.’
Dr Luke says that sespite her urgent calls to the relevant agencies and decision makers, nothing was done.
‘From these calls, it became clear that there was no agency working to prepare for the catastrophe; they were waiting to respond once an emergency was called,’ she said. ‘This was far too late.’
Science should be at centre of discussion
Dr Luke teaches regenerative agriculture at Southern Cross University and was part of the flood research centre that was never funded. She crewed a tinny rescuing people from rooftops in Woodburn, later caring for flood victims in Evans Head evacuation centres and helping with the coordination of recovery efforts.
‘The people of Lismore are deeply concerned about the future of their city, which they love very much,’ she said.
‘The sheer scale of the floods leads to difficult discussions about measures required to maintain a safe and habitable city.
‘These discussions must be informed by science, supported by experts and take the community into consideration at every step.
‘The needs of the businesses, tenants, homeowners and our homeless population need to be heard and accepted. The wider needs of communities including downstream towns and villages, must also be taken into account,’ said Dr Luke.
‘The reality is the warning signs were ignored. If we had the right mechanisms in place, I firmly believe we would not be seeing the level of devastation that we’re now dealing with.
“We urgently need government funding to establish a Recovery Committee representing a cross-section of groups and interests in Lismore and downstream communities.
‘We simply cannot sit by and wait for the next disaster to occur. The reality is our region is destined for more floods, and we need to act now to prevent future devastation.’
Dr Luke said she is also looking to international examples of best practice in disaster recovery. ‘Following the disastrous hurricane Sandy in New York City, an international design competition informed their solutions. A similar initiative here would allow Lismore, and the wider Page region, to consider the experience of other cities that have been devastated by flooding,’ she said.
‘The time for action is now,’ she said.
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