ROR says Premier Chris Minns’ remarks on 2GB radio yesterday calling for the demolition of Lismore homes and the eviction of occupants were clearly intended to name a scapegoat, ‘as a distraction from the many failures of the ill-designed recovery programs since the 2022 floods.’
ROR says the premier’s ‘false claims’ demonstrate his ignorance of the detail and complexity of the Lismore situation, while also buying into the divisive campaign initiated by the member for Page Kevin Hogan.
According to ROR’s statement:
- Pine St was completely evacuated and cleaned up before the SES call to evacuate North Lismore, demonstrating how a community can live safely and responsibly in empty buyback houses.
- The SES would have had to visit Pine St anyway as there is an owner occupier on the street. Occupants were evacuated and posed no extra burden on SES resources.
- No one on Pine St is trying to jump the queue on a social housing list. In actuality, people have found their own housing and thus reduced the social housing list.
- There is no power connected. Occupants have offered to pay for water but have had no response from the RA.
- The former owners of the properties sold them to the government in the belief that they would be relocated – not demolished. It would be a traumatising outcome for the community to have these houses needlessly demolished.
- The Pine St residents have clearly communicated to RA many times that they are occupying until relocation and are happy to help with any processes that will see the houses relocated.
- This entire community is tired and traumatised and wants to be focusing on returning to their homes, getting their businesses and lives back in order – these statements from Minns don’t demonstrate care or leadership in recovery
- There are SES volunteers living on Pine Street.
Dialogue sought
Tina, a 52 year old single mother and Pine St Resident said, ‘We invite Chris Minns to come and meet with us and discuss the complex intersections of the housing crisis and climate crisis and the impacts it is having on real people.
‘If he came he would see that we were prepared for the recent flood and evacuated neatly and safely, and that we are doing no harm and are providing a positive service – including housing – to the community. We have always sought dialogue with the NSW RA and believe that conversation not demolition is what we need now.’
Miriam Torzillo resident of Wotherspoon St, North Lismore, said ‘If the premier were so keen on the safety of Lismore residents, then he might push the Reconstruction Authority to ensure remaining homeowners could afford to relocate their homes, instead of waiting for the promise of land under the failed Resilient Lands program, as well as to relocate the many people who barely survived the 2022 floods only to be told they weren’t eligible for any buyback or house raise.’
Antoinette O’Brien from Reclaim Our Recovery said, ‘The previous owners were assured their houses would become housing stock for people in need. They would be devastated to see them demolished.
‘The premier’s threat to demolish the Pine Street houses in order to evict occupants who are seeking shelter in a housing crisis and caretaking the properties before any eventual relocation is unreasonable. He should instead be calling for progress on relocating all buyback houses out of the floodplain, and increasing public housing.
‘Pine St was carefully and responsibly evacuated,’ said Ms O’Brien. ‘Demolishing that valuable community asset will not terminate the need for housing. The fact that people are living in these houses is indicative of how severe the housing crisis is.’
Fairness?
Andrew George of Reclaim Our Recovery said, ‘Minns has called out the issue of “fairness”. If we want to talk about fairness we should ask: why have so many people in South Lismore received no buybacks, house raises or retrofits, is that fair?
‘What about the $57 million of taxpayer money spent on Reconstruction Authority salaries including executive director salaries averaging $344,000? Or the $2500/year spent per boarded-up buyback house on security and maintenance? This money is saved if the houses are occupied. Yet he’s scapegoating people seeking shelter in empty properties and having free water.
‘The government should come to the table and sort out occupation licenses until the houses are ready to be moved.’
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