Tamara Smith, Member for Ballina and NSW Greens Disaster Relief Spokesperson, has welcomed an additional $150m in funding for the Northern Rivers and Central West flood recovery in Tuesday’s NSW budget.
However, Smith has warned that this announcement falls far short of the additional $800m that was committed to by Premier Minns in the lead up to the 2023 state election. She says it is required to ensure that residents devastated by the 2022 floods can receive a buyback, house-raise or retrofit.
Mandy Nolan, Greens candidate for Richmond, has condemned the federal Labor government for failing to pitch in funding for a second tranche of flood recovery funding for the Northern Rivers, leaving residents who have been waiting for assistance confused and anxious about their future.
Both Ms Smith and Ms Nolan are urging the federal Labor government to immediately prioritise delivering the remaining $700m to the Resilient Homes Program, and to end the uncertainty for flood victims across the Northern Rivers.
Smith said, ‘The federal Labor government now needs to step up and deliver the additional $700m in funding that flood survivors were promised. How much longer does our community have to wait?’
Reliant on fed funds
A spokesperson from Lismore MP Janelle Saffin’s office (NSW Labor) told The Echo they were not aware whether the state government had applied to the federal government for the next round of flood funding.
The Echo understands that to be granted the funds, the state government needs to apply to the federal government.
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