An ugly side of Yamba, Australia's Best Town

The flood brought out the best and worst of Yamba. Many people, especially SES volunteers, were superb, but some greedy business operators saw the flood as an opportunity to line their pockets.

A letters contributor in The Sydney Morning Herald has highlighted Yamba's ugly side.

Flood victims hung out to dry

Being a city bloke, I had been under the misconception that small towns pulled together in a crisis and extended a hand to those in need. It doesn't appear to be the case with Yamba, on the Clarence River, which is still cut off by the floods.

My in-laws, who are age pensioners, arrived there on Monday last week for three nights at a caravan park. Nine days later, they were paying full price for a motel room after moving from the park, where "company policy" required the manager to continue to charge full price for their flimsy cabin near the rising river.

Other guests in town are running out of money and their predicament seems to be met with "tut tut" statements from the locals. City folk like me will remember this sort of opportunism the next time we are asked to feel sorry for small-town folk.

Henry Lebovic Haberfield