NSW Labor Premier, Chris Minns, has hinted that those deemed ineligible for government flood programs (retrofit, home raising and buybacks), may be offered what they were originally promised by the former NSW Coalition government.
As previously reported, almost all Byron Shire residents who applied were rejected after new mapping, which did not include the 2022 flood, was used as the basis for awarding grants.
Local MP Tamara Smith (Greens) asked Premier Chris Minns in NSW parliament on August 24: ‘Considering that only a small proportion of flood-affected people in my electorate have been supported through the Resilient Homes Program, when will the premier announce further funding under tranche two?’
Minns replied in part, ‘The government has spent $314 million of the $700 million Resilient Homes Program in tranche one. That was a 50-50 split between the Commonwealth and state, with $350 million from both jurisdictions. It was meant to accommodate the needs of roughly 2,000 households. ‘I inform the House that 477 offers for voluntary buybacks have been approved, 251 offers have been accepted but just 70 contracts have been settled. Getting the contracts submitted is an elongated process.
‘But the previous government and the Commonwealth government made significant undertakings for more funds to build up the community.
‘A release was put out in November last year indicating that a further 4,000 houses – so 6,000 in total – would be eligible for tranche two.
‘We are working with the federal government. We know more needs to be done on three key areas: communication, which has not been up to scratch, but I am hopeful that the appointment of the member for Lismore [Janelle Saffin as Parliamentary Secretary for Disaster Recovery], and Simon Draper [as the new Secretary of the Premier’s Department] will go a long way to dealing with that; coordination between the states and local government; and finally, funding. The budget will be handed down in several weeks, and we will have more to say about it then’.
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