Late breaking news! On Tuesday, The Echo discovered that the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation (NRRC) is even worse than they were last week.
On Tuesday, the NRRC shot out a press release with four separate attachments and a summary. Unlike last week’s efforts, these are complex documents.
Some scientific hydrology knowledge would be useful.
Importantly, the latest offerings rely heavily on frequently asked questions (FAQ).
How convenient for bureaucrats to ask themselves what they want to answer.
The first document assures flood-affected residents that an Appeals Panel has been established ‘to consider all appeals under the Resilient Homes Program’.
No information is provided as to who is on the panel, what they are paid, or whether they are independent.
The next document is the six page Home Buyback Fact Sheet, which mainly offers more FAQs.
Over to the next document, the eight-page Home Raising and Home Retrofit Fact Sheet also offers more FAQs and more of what we already know.
The most important document is the How Homes are Prioritised Fact Sheet. No indication is given as to how these new flood models change the outcomes for those 7,000 people who applied for assistance under the programs.
We only know that local MP, Tamara Smith, says the new flood data has mostly demolished the chance that anyone from this electorate will be eligible.
The document says, ‘The flood hazard analysis has been defined in accordance with the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience Guideline. More information can be found via the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR)’.
The Byron Shire flood maps that are provided on the www.nsw.gov.au website, it should be said, are of low resolution and are of poor quality. It is hard to define what areas are high to low priority.
It’s an incredible insult to the entire region that suffered from these floods in 2022.
For more bureaucratic waffle and senseless bullshit, visit www.nsw.gov.au/regional-nsw/northern-rivers-reconstruction-corporation/resilient-homes-fund/resilient-homes-program.
Hans Lovejoy, editor
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
