On 19 April 2022 NSW Premier & Liberal MP for Epping Dominic Perrottet and Deputy Premier, Minister for Regional NSW, Minister for Police & Nationals MP for Bathurst Paul Toole announced the formation of the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation (NRRC), a development corporation which is to manage the rebuilding of Northern NSW communities by coordinating planning, rebuilding and construction work across multiple government agencies, following the 2022 floods across Lismore and Northern Rivers region of NSW.
The NRRC works with the Northern Rivers Administrative Group in the Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Lismore, Richmond Valley, Tweed and Kyogle local government areas.
It states of itself that it; operates as a ‘front door to government’ for all reconstruction and development activities in the Northern Rivers. It sets and implements reconstruction priorities in the region, and works with government agencies and departments to deliver those priorities quickly.
The NRRC became effective on 1 July 2022 and sits within the Department of Regional NSW and reports to the Deputy Premier.
The NRRC will have the power to compulsorily acquire or subdivide land, speed up and fast-track the building of new premises and accelerate delivery of planning proposals through the Department of Planning and Environment. The insurance, construction and infrastructure sectors will be important contributors, alongside local government, industry, businesses and residents.
The NRRC is to be assisted by an as yet somewhat shadowy advisory group consisting of local representatives, such as local members of parliament and mayors, as well as leaders in the community. It met with NRRC CEO David Witherdin for the first time on 5 August 2022.
On that same day Deputy Premier Paul Toole announced the names of the eight NRRC board members:
Gary Barnes, Secretary, Department Regional NSW;
Michael Cassel, Secretary, Department of Planning and Environment;
Peter Duncan, NSW Government appointed Commissioner, NSW Independent Planning Commission, former chief executive of Roads and Maritime Services;
Andrew Hall, Executive Director & CEO, Insurance Council of Australia;
Darren Kershaw, North Coast Aboriginal Development Alliance, Tweed Heads;
Jane Laverty, Business NSW - regional representative, Ballina;
Ballina Shire Council Mayor Sharon Cadwallader, Northern Rivers Joint Organisation; and
Michael Rayner, former general manager Tweed Shire Council, Tweed community member.
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| TOP ROW: Michael Rayner, Andrew Hall, Gary Barnes, Jane Laverty. BOTTOM ROW: Peter Duncan, Sharon Cadwallader, Darren Kershaw & Michael Cassel. IMAGE: indyNR.com |
What is striking about this NRRC board is the complete absence of Lismore City local government or community members on the only body with full authority to make decisions concerning post-flood reconstruction and development. The design of the NRRC and its remit is as close to Sydney-centric and autocratic as a tone deaf state government can make it.
It should also be noted that the Insurance Council of Australia has a history of political donations to both major parties, with the majority of donations going to the Liberal Party in 2018 and 2021.
When the NRRC was created the original plan was for Resilience NSW to continue to be responsible for providing immediate relief resupplying impacted communities, restoring essential services, cleaning up properties and providing temporary accommodation in the short to medium terms. However, the future of Resilience NSW is now in doubt as speculation mounts that NSW Police is preparing to create a new executive role to handle emergency and disaster situations following the rumored negative findings of yet to be released independent flood inquiry and parliamentary flood inquiry reports.
It appears that within government circles fevered brains have also left the door open to imagining an expansion of the NRRC sometime in the future to cover other towns, cities or regions as required.
A question springs to mind. In creating this particular version of a reconstruction and development corporation have Perrottet and Toole designed a carthorse or a camel?
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