Tweed update from Chris Cherry

Tweed Shire Mayor Chris Cherry speaks to The Echo about the recovery of her area, which was hit hard by recent flooding.

Firstly, do you have any comments about the Tweed area (as well as Byron and Ballina) apparently being left out of the National Disaster Declaration, in terms of secondary assistance for residents?

‘That has been met with shock and disbelief,’ said Mayor Cherry, ‘but I do feel very confident that those declarations were made on the assessments that have been done to date, and the whole focus has been on Lismore.

‘I do believe that as as they shift their resources to do the assessments for Tweed and Byron and Ballina, that our areas will also be included in that extra funding. That’s certainly my hope and my belief, and I just hope that we get that announcement as soon as possible.’

Could you tell us how the recovery is going so far in the Tweed?

‘We’ve probably collected about a fifth of the rubbish, from the flood debris that’s out there. We’ve got 150 ADF personnel on the ground, and dedicated crews from council working out there every day,’ said Chris Cherry.

‘We understand that the sooner we can remove that, the better it is for people to be able to take stock and look at where they are.

‘Obviously, our biggest issue is accommodation for all those people that are displaced from the floods. So that’s what we’re focusing on right now, and we’re also trying to focus attention of the state and federal governments on that.’

Amidst all the flood chaos, today Mayor Cherry is conducting a citizenship ceremony. She will be officially welcoming more than 100 new citizens to the Tweed.

‘I’m really looking forward to it,’ she said. ‘That’s always a really joyful ceremony. I’m looking forward to having a two hour break from all this to do that, and sharing some real joy with those people.’