It is time for the NSW government to listen to the northern rivers community about what they need to achieve their recovery from the 2022 floods. Reclaim Our Recovery (ROR) has invited the NSW Premier Chris Minns and the local MPs to come together with the community and listen to what the community after the last 16 months of government failure to provide the support and recovery they need.
‘The NRRC have long lost their social licence to operate in our region because of their refusal to listen to our community and for their failure to communicate basic information in a timely manner,’ said ROR in their letter of invitation that also included NSW Reconstruction Authority CEO, Simon Draper, CEO Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation (NRRC), David Witherdin, and Mary O’Kane who was the 2022 NSW Flood Inquiry co-lead and is now an Advisory board member for the NSW Reconstruction Authority.
Flawed criteria
Reclaim Our Recovery are calling for a genuine reset of the relationship between the community and government saying that, ‘It is not a reset just because a new authority (the NSW Reconstruction Authority) has taken over with a few changes that see applications processed a bit faster.
‘The basis of the program risk eligibility criteria is flawed. The new criteria, which does not include the February 2022 flood event in it, is not evidence based. It is not peer reviewed and it will see thousands of residents left in harm’s way.’
They highlight the failure of government commitments that originally stated they would provide assistance to approximately 6,000 homes in the form of buybacks, house raisings and retrofits, that Mr Draper recently denied at the media briefing (28 June, 2023) on the NRRC’s Resilient Homes Program.
‘The recent sudden changes have broken us. Our “recovery” can only be described as a disaster, which some say has been worse than the flood event itself,’ stated ROR in the letter.
‘We have never asked for anything excessive or impossible. We just want to have a safe and secure home and to draw on our community experience and expertise to lead our own recovery. Both of those requests have been ignored, even though it is the government’s own position to uphold our right to adequate housing and to use best practice in disaster recovery.’
Greens MP, environment and planning lawyer and resident of the Northern Rivers, Sue Higginson has said, ‘This call for a reset was inevitable, it’s very timely and a good idea. Right now, there are so many in our community who are not on the path of recovery and they are not being heard. Sixteen months after the floods, while some have been offered a buyback they have nowhere to go, people are still living in tents, in homes that are unliveable and instead of centring these people in the recovery process, they are being shut out.’
Land swaps needed
As part of the call for a reset ROR are asking that the NSW government follow the National Principles for Disaster Recovery developed by the Australian government which has a strong focus on community engagement, local knowledge and self-determination. They are also calling for land swaps to be put back on the table ‘and ensure they are available to relocate homes or build on before the end of 2023’.
‘The community is rightly asking that the national best practice principles for disaster recovery be followed and be used to restore the relationship with the NRRC,’ said Ms Higginson.
‘Shutting the community out of its own recovery and limiting the options available to them, while they are vulnerable, having been through unimaginable trauma will not deliver the best outcomes for our region. The community has been told to wait and wait, vital information is not being shared, communication has been very poor, the new government has played politics with the budget and commitments appear to be cracking.
‘As part of the reset we need to reconsider land swaps and house relocations. This was one of the things the community foresaw as a necessary option to stay in the community and out of the disaster zone. We were told that land swaps are too complex and not possible. They were taken off the table too early and without a proper explanation. Instead, we were told we would have buybacks, but only for some. The reality of this scheme is now in focus. The roll out has not been transparent, in some cases the communication has been so woeful it has been traumatising and the maps that have informed eligibility for a buy back are based on modelling that did not include the very flood we are recovering from. Things are likely to get worse from here.’
Community meeting required
Responding to the letter, Ministers last night had a half hour meeting with representatives of ROR.
‘I believe we managed to communicate our message and the different aspects of this issue,’ ROR coordinator Miriam Torzillo told The Echo.
‘Janelle had read the letter but I don’t believe the other ministers had – but they had been briefed. We asked that they read the letter and accompanying communications. Janelle was backing up what we were saying often about how things have been so far regarding the lack of consultation, transparency, or communication from the beginning.
‘We are going to keep pushing for the community meeting because we don’t want this reset of panels and advisory groups that have been set up by them, to just be a rerun of what has already taken place that leads to the same outcomes.’
Saffin
Following the meeting with ROR, Lismore MP Janelle Saffin told The Echo:
‘It is a good letter and cites key issues that could improve the recovery.
‘I am very familiar with the Principles for Natural Disasters and if these were front and centre of any recovery-rebuild response it would serve communities well.
‘We – Minister Dib, Minister Scully and myself – had a meeting last night with four ROR representatives and the meeting was very respectful where the ROR representatives got a good hearing and were able to articulate some practical ways things could be more inclusive of community.
‘It might well be the first time that ROR representatives were face to face with senior ministers responsible for these areas.
‘I see it as good start and of course there are many more conversations to be had and some reset action.’
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