So Premier Perrottet, it's perfectly acceptable to drown a small coastal town in the name of of so-called progress?

This is a story about a small coastal town in New South Wales that is in the second stage of drowning.

It realised it was caught in a strong tide decades ago, started to tread water while looking about to see how far it was to the safety of a solid 'in good faith' urban planning riverbank, found it was in trouble and raised a hand high in the air hoping someone would notice its growing distress.

All that happened was that that successive federal, state and local governments waved at it from the shore and turned away to continue their discussions with property speculators and developers.

 

Click on images to enlarge

For decades this town has been told by federal and state governments that it needed to expand to grow their respective economies. Local government has said it needs to contribute to the local economy (and by implication grow Council's rate base) as well as the regional economy. 

Time and again developers have told the town that clear felling more and more land, as well as draining the marshes, natural flood ways and flood storage land then covering these areas with landfill, will benefit local communities by increasing the supply of housing in the town - that they are in fact 'good neighbours' to have in the community. If the community pushed back these same developers more often than not quickly fell back on their 'rights' as owners of portions of the hundreds of hectares in question and, not infrequently pointed to barely activated development consents they had hoarded as nest eggs until a more favourable political or economic climate developed.

And because all three tiers of government frequently talk in terms of legal ownership of land and its cash value as rateable land, regardless of its aesthetic, environmental, cultural and social value to the community, towns like Yamba at the mouth of the Clarence River often get sucked into responding in terms of the degree to which overdevelopment within long established urban precincts impacts on property ie., loss, damage and/or reduced amenity. 

It's understandable. Like many other coastal towns, a good many Yamba residents are home and/or business property owners themselves.

However, this conversation needs to be firmly turned away from an almost bloodless actuarial view of potential property losses and a new thread has to enter the argument - risk to the life, health and wellbeing of the town population on a individual and collective level.

Because is not just property or lifestyle that will be affected as the climate change risks increase.  

Therefore, all three tiers of government as well as property developers and those contracted to assist the progress of their development applications, need to be forced to face the potential for loss of life, injury and chronic illness if they proceed with political agendas and commercial aspirations on a 'business as usual basis'. 

Yamba, along with the entire east coast of Australia, is facing a rising level of risk because: 

Australia's climate is now on average 1.44°C(± 0.24°C) hotter than it was in 1910 with 1.0°C of this rise occurring since 1960; 

the surface waters of the ocean which forms the eastern border of the town are becoming warmer; 

the East Australia Current has increased in speed moving further down the NSW coast; 

wave patterns have changed and waves breaking on local beaches and estuary soft shorelines are more erosive;

sea-level rise has commenced;

season of the year patterns are changing; 

adverse weather events are becoming a fact of life;

and Yamba can no longer boast that it has one of the best climate systems in the world. 

Floods now move through the Lower Clarence River estuary on average once every three years with some intervals between floods being much shorter than that and, out of control bushfires driven by high winds have proven that the town is not immune to the threat of fire. East-Coast Lows batter the town during adverse weather events.

During such events - especially flood events - Yamba can be cut off from the wider Clarence Valley for days to weeks and experience disruptions to its food and medicine supply chains.

To date there is not one piece of state legislation, regulation or instrument which guarantees that ALL these risks are taken into consideration whenever a development application is lodged and progressed to the point of denial or consent.

Every battle against inappropriate development in coastal towns like Yamba has to be fought on a case by case basis and, again like Yamba, fought in towns whose topographies are being reshaped time and time again with no overarching understanding on the part of decisionmakers of potential consequences of their actions. 

When Yamba asks local government about safety in times of natural disaster it holds aloft a leaflet with a cry of "Nothing to worry about!" or words to that effect. Then tells residents that they should either 'self evacuate' (leave town ahead of its one road to the outside world being cut), 'shelter in place' (stay at home), go to stay with unspecified family or friends on the only high ground in the town - Pilot Hill with its mix of approx. 200 private and holiday rental dwellings clustered either side of three streets. Alternatively residents are told they could make their way to the ‘evacuation centre’, a low-lying local bowling club where an unspecified person/s will record their details but seemingly do little else.

So knowing that Yamba is vulnerable to almost the full suite of climate change risks - risks being exacerbated right now by inappropriate large scale development consents - who in this small town surrounded on all sides by bodies of water might be the most vulnerable?

How does Yamba bring this range of personal vulnerability to the notice of those overly complacent federal, state and local government decision makers?

A Brief Outline of Demographic Characteristics Which Potentially Indicate Vulnerable Persons within the town boundaries of Yamba, NSW, during an Adverse Weather Event caused by Bushfire or Riverine Flooding which may be intensified by Ocean Storm Surge or Stormwater Inundation.

Based on data collected by Australian Bureau of Statistics on CENSUS NIGHT, 10 August 2021, spatial information from id.com.au and Yamba Floodplain Risk Management Study 2008.

Yamba township is approx. 16.92 sq. kilometres in area with a current population density of 376.9 persons per sq. kilometre.

At all times there is one road acting as access and egress for the Yamba resident population and it is a designated evacuation route in times of bushfire or flood. This road along its length is at its lowest point 1.4mAHD and highest point 2mAHD. Note: Australian Height Datum (AHD) expressed as mAHD indicates height in metres above mean sea level. 

There are recognised difficulties to safe evacuation in and from Yamba in times of Lower Clarence River flooding:

“These are likely to be high on account of:

• the distance to high ground,

• Yamba Road will be cut early making access difficult,

• the roads will quickly be inundated by up to 1 m depth or

greater,

• the emergency services (SES, Police) will be “stretched”

answering calls throughout the area.”

[Webb, McKeown & Associates, October 2008]

Three significant flood ways taking water from the southern sections of the town to the Clarence River are now either partially built upon, impeded by poorly designed infrastructure or in the process of being blocked by hectares of new land fill.

There are within Yamba:

• est. 2,747 occupied residential dwellings housing 6,405 men, women & children;

• est. 875 lone person households in Yamba & another 1,191 two-person family households;

• est. 273 lone parent households;

• at least 136 residential dwellings with no car;

• est. 625 households without an internet connection at the dwelling. Note: Based on 2016 Census data as this question was not asked in Census 2021.

• est. 758 private dwellings being rented, excluding holiday rentals;

• est. 49 social housing properties being rented – 17 freestanding houses, 32 townhouses/duplex units;

• On the basis of vulnerable age groupings:

(i) 830 children aged between 0-14 years of age

(ii) 2,414 adults aged between 65-100+ years of age;

• On the basis of self-reported chronic health conditions:

2,482 persons with between 1 and 3 or more chronic conditions, including

(i) est. 71 children between 0-14 years of age with one or two health conditions

(ii) est. 200 adults aged between 65-85+ years of age with between one and three or more chronic health conditions:

Note: the range of long-term health conditions include but are not restricted to arthritis, asthma, cancer, dementia, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, lung conditions, stroke and mental health.

• On basis of possible inability to finance their own self-evacuation:

402 households with weekly family incomes of $0-$499 dollars, including

(i) est. 105 family households

(ii) est. 302 lone person & group households;

• the est. 300-1,000+ visitors staying in the town's hotel, motels, caravan parks, holiday rental accommodation who may be unfamiliar with the topography or road network in Yamba if/when required to seek safe shelter.

A word Premier Perrottet.....

Mr. Perrott, when heavy rainfall and major to extreme flooding events occurred earlier this year in the Northern Rivers region from Clarence Valley to the Qld-NSW border, members of your government - including yourself - called much of what happened "an unprecedented event, an unprecedented situation". 

But that is not really an accurate description is it?

It was a predictable event and a predicted situation.

Time and time again the United Nations has warned Australia that it was going to be the first continent to face the full force of climate change impacts. Successive NSW state governments have been aware of the rising level of risk since the 1990s.

You have been a member of the NSW Division of the Liberal Party since 2002, a member of the NSW Parliament and a member of the NSW Coalition Government since March 2011 and, a minister in that government since April 2014. You were NSW Treasurer for 4 years, 8 months, 6 days and went on to be state premier these last eleven months.

I have never heard anyone suggest that you were someone of limited intelligence. So there is no way you had not noted the increased risk of coastal erosion, bushfire and flood along the 1,973km long and 100km wide NSW mainland coastal zone, particularly in the last two decades. 

However, like many in positions of power before you Mr. Perrottet, you have ignored the situation and refused to face the issue of what that meant in terms of physical protection of the population. Or confronted the need to instigate reforms to land use as well as to planning legislation, regulations and instruments, in order to better reflect the circumstances of a society living in a changing climate.

As premier your electorate is the entire state. It's long past time you started to genuinely represent all those most vulnerable to climate change induced fire, storm and flood in that very large electorate - not just the NSW Liberal Party, foreign investors, big business, land speculators, property developers, political donors and your deeply suspect coalition partner, the NSW Nationals.

BRIEF BACKGROUND 

A handful of not so fun facts for Yamba residents  

Matters that state government, local government and regional planning panels should consider (but more often barely notice in passing) before granting consent for large scale residential developments along the NSW coastal zone.

Take Yamba for instance, bounded by the Clarence River estuary and Pacific Ocean...

Probable Maximum Flood (PMF). The largest flood that could conceivably be expected to occur at a particular location, usually estimated from probable maximum precipitation. The PMF defines the maximum extent of flood prone land, that is, the floodplain.

[NEW SOUTH WALES STATE FLOOD PLAN GLOSSARY , February 2018]

“Evacuation

1. Reliable access for pedestrians or vehicles required during a 100 year flood to a publicly accessible location above the PMF”

[RESIDENTIAL ZONES DEVELOPMENT CONTROL PLAN, effective from 23 Dec 2011 , FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT CONTROLS, LOWER CLARENCE RIVER FLOODPLAIN, YAMBA FLOODPLAIN & OTHER FLOODPLAINS]......

Approach to Yamba Bowling Club for most of Yamba population will be blocked by 1-in-100yr Flood at 2.09-2.2m & Extreme Flood at 3.56-3.68m. [https://maps.clarence.nsw.gov.au/intramaps97/]

In both flood types Yamba will be isolated from the wider Clarence Valley by floodwaters for a matter of days or weeks....

* 

Quote of the Week

 

'“Climate activists are sometimes depicted as dangerous radicals, but the truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing the production of fossil fuels.” – United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres' [Antonio Guterres quoted in The Guardian, 7 April 2022 by climate scientist & author Peter Kalmus PhD Physics, Data Scientist - NASA]

There is political madness in the air as barely hidden agendas make a mockery of the ongoing trauma in communities hit by NSW Floods February-March 2022

 

Desperate to eliminate all discussion of climate change from the public debate ahead of the federal election campaign, the Morrison Government has given the nod for the CSIRO to be granted est. $10 million dollars via the federal National Recovery and Resilience Agency (NRRA) to study how to manage floodwater within the Wilson and Richmond river catchments with definitely no mention of funding for national, state or regional mitigation measures to tackle for the root cause of extreme flooding events - climate change. 

The Coordinator General of the NRRA, Shane Stone, is reported as stating that flood management study is expected to take up to two years.

According to one National Party member of the Morrison Government, Page MP Kevin Hogan (middle with Steven Krieg on his left), the results of this study are a done deal: "For too long, previous councils have debated the merits of flood mitigation. Today that debate is done. For everyone who is against engineering solutions to flood mitigation, the debate is over."   

Predictably, National Party-supported Lismore Mayor Steven Krieg blindly echoes this pre-empting of the CSIRO's study report while on the same breath assuring the region that is not what he is doing.

This bold pre-emptive statement hides a multitude of misconceptions about the function of a dam, because the primary function of a dam can be water sustainability/storage or flood mitigation.

Water sustainability/storage requires a dam to be constantly around 90 per cent capacity to fully meet its primary function and to justify the many millions spent on its construction and ongoing maintenance.

Flood mitigation requires a dam to always be almost empty and every time its water level rises significantly that water needs to be released back into the river system that feeds it in order to maintain flood mitigation capacity.

Trying to combine both functions in the same dam on a floodplain would require an enormous, over-designed dam built at prohibitive financial and environmental cost. A constant looming presence in the landscape likely to give downstream farmers and homeowners more than a few troubled nights.

And let's face it, there is actual income to be made out of water storage dams not empty dams, so the temptation for a gradual shift in purpose from flood mitigation to water sustainability/storage would be there from the very beginning - with the potential for lethal consequences during mega floods or a multiple flood year in the catchment when there is insufficient capacity remaining to retain all the floodwater reaching such a repurposed dam.

There is already renewed talk of damming and diverting water from NSW coastal rivers inland or across the NSW-Qld border and it appears that nothing would please the Perrottet Government more than finding an excuse for inter-catchment water transfer to satisfy the needs of rapacious councils, property developers and irrigators outside of the Northern Rivers region, as well as the wants of that unhealthy coterie of political donors/dodgy water traders. 

This motley collection of National Party ideologues and mindless political agitators need to stop acting as a wrecking ball and build on local knowledge and expertise in order to genuinely assess all the solutions being offered up Lismore and the Northern Rivers region.

BACKGROUND 

There are thirty-six signatories to this document sponsored by the Climate Council of Australia. 

MARCH 2022 Statement From A... by clarencegirl

https://www.scribd.com/document/566391016/MARCH-2022-Statement-From-Australian-Mayors-And-Councillors-Extreme-weather-is-hurting-Australia-and-our-communities-are-paying-the-price

Council Magazine, 7 March 2022:

The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has called for a targeted $200 million per year disaster mitigation fund, for local governments to address the impacts of climate change and help increase Australia’s resiliency.

ALGA President, Linda Scott, said the Association is seeking the disaster mitigation fund as well as an extra $200 million over four years for a Local Government Climate Response Partnership Fund.

“In 2014, the Productivity Commission recommended increased investment in disaster mitigation, but currently less than five per cent of disaster funding in Australia goes towards mitigation and community resilience measures,” Cr Scott said.

“We appreciate the support that has quickly been provided by states and the Commonwealth to households and communities impacted by these devastating floods in Queensland and New South Wales.

“However, we need greater investment in disaster mitigation and climate change adaptation to reduce the severity and impact of future natural disasters.

“The current legislation allows for $200 million per year to be spent from the Federal Government’s $4.8 billion Emergency Management Fund.

“However, since 2019 the Government has only committed $150 million in total from this fund.

“This month’s Federal Budget is an opportunity for the Commonwealth to provide additional assistance that will help protect our communities from increasing disaster events.

“Investing in mitigation makes economic sense, and significantly reduces the costs governments incur during recovery.”

Cr Scott said ALGA is also advocating for a Local Government Climate Response Partnership Fund of $200 million over four years to help councils address the impacts of climate change in their communities.

“Across our nation, we are seeing floods and fires that are more severe, and more destructive,” Cr Scott said.

“Providing our councils with funding to address the impacts of climate change in our communities will help us increase our resilience to future natural disasters.”

The Guardian, 23 March 2022:

Lismore council has been gripped by in-fighting over whether it should make references to “climate change” following the flood disaster and a decision to pause its work on flood mitigation despite warnings the “optics” of doing so were “not good”.

The disaster-ravaged town is still in the early stages of recovering from an unprecedented 14.4-metre flood, which wiped out thousands of homes and businesses and brought Lismore to its knees.

On Tuesday, in a late-night sitting, Lismore council proposed a message of thanks to volunteers and the community for their efforts in the immediate response and clean-up effort.

It included a line saying the council “acknowledges we are likely to experience further disasters of this nature as climate change continues to escalate”.

The words “climate change” prompted a reaction from four councillors, led by independent councillor Big Rob, who attempted to have the reference removed and replaced with a line saying “we are definitely going to experience further disasters of this nature”.

Rob – who says he does not deny climate change but likes to “stir up lefties” – said he did not think a message of community support was the right place to make “political” statements about climate change.

“That motion was about thanking people, not being political about climate change,” he said…….

The effort to delete the reference to climate change failed. But it rankled other councillors, including Greens councillor Adam Guise, who first proposed the climate change reference be added.

“They tried to couch it as not politicising it,” Guise said . “But this is the whole thing about climate change, it’s not political, it’s science.”

The dispute came amid further divisions within council over a decision to halt the work of a key committee working to improve flood mitigation measures in Lismore.

That occurred despite councillors acknowledging the “optics” of pausing the flood mitigation committee so soon after a disaster were “not good”.

The council has also sacked members of the Lismore community who were on a community reference group advising council on flood mitigation.

On Tuesday, at 11pm, the council decided to pause the work of the floodplain committee to wait for more information from CSIRO, which has been given $10m to explore flood mitigation measures in the region.

Lismore council decided it should hold off doing any further work on flood mitigation of its own until it understood what CSIRO was doing.

But councillor Vanessa Ekins, who chairs the committee, warned that could take months. She said pausing the committee was “very dangerous ground” and would not look good to Lismore residents.

“We have just been through a big flood, we are still experiencing that and for us to send a message out there that we are pausing work that we have been working really hard on for years until we hear what the CSIRO are doing … they might take six months to tell us what they’re doing,” she said.

“This could take a really, really long time and meanwhile our community has no guidance from us, we’re not doing anything, we’ve paused the consultation we’re currently engaged in until someone else tells us what they’re doing.”

She said the decision was “absolutely outrageous”.

“It’s really important that our flood plain committee continues the work that it’s been doing for the last five years on mitigating the impacts of flooding on the CBD and residences,” she said. “We were in the middle of a consultation process with members of the community about various options.”

Others were furious that community members had been sacked from the committee so soon after the floods.

“We had community members on that committee with five years’ experience and expertise in understanding the mitigation options that were before us,” councillor Elly Bird said. “To throw all of that experience away, I don’t support it.”

“The definition of stupidity is doing something again and again, and expecting another result”. Coincidentally, this has become the primary definition of any Liberal-Nationals Coalition government formed anywhere in Australia within living memory

 

Robert Stokes first became NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces on 2 April 2019 and retained that ministry after Liberal MLA for Epping Dominic Perrottet became NSW Premier in October 2021.

In December 2021 Stokes by way of ministerial directive initiated nine guiding principles of planning reform which he broadly believed would assist government to deliver all the new homes forecast to be required by 2036.

According to Lindsay Taylor Lawyers, 3 December 2021:

On 2 December 2021, the NSW Government published 11 new thematic State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs) as part of a consolidation process to simplify the State’s planning policies. All 11 consolidated SEPPs will commence on 1 March 2022.

The consolidated SEPPs are aligned to the Minister’s Planning Principles also released by the Minister for Planning on the same day¹.

The Planning Principles were grouped into the following nine key themes to guide planning and development in New South Wales:

Planning systems — A strategic and inclusive planning system for the community and the environment;

Design and place — Delivering well-designed places that enhance quality of life, the environment and the economy;

Biodiversity and conservation — Preserving, conserving and managing NSW’s natural environment and heritage;

Resilience and hazards — Managing risks and building resilience in the face of hazards;

Transport and infrastructure — Providing well-designed and located transport and infrastructure integrated with land use;

Housing — Delivering a sufficient supply of safe, diverse and affordable housing;

Industry and employment — Growing a competitive and resilient economy that is adaptive, innovative and delivers jobs;

Resources and energy — Promoting the sustainable use of NSW’s resources and transitioning to renewable energy;

Primary production — Protecting and supporting agricultural lands and opportunities for primary production.

On 19 December 2021 Premier Perrottet announced a reshuffling his Cabinet.

NSW Liberal MLA for Pittwater with a PhD in Planning Law Robert Stokes ceased being Minister for Planning and Public Spaces and on 21 December became Minister for Infrastructure, Minister for Cities, Minister for Active Transport.

At the same time Liberal MP for Lane Cove with a Master of Arts (Organisational Communication) Anthony Roberts ceased being the Minister for Counter Terrorism and Corrections and on 21 December became Minister for Planning, Minister for Homes, whose planning duties were formerly within the now defunct Ministry for Planning and Public Spaces.

Thus 2021 NSW leadership rival Stokes seemingly disliked by the Premier, big developers and councils alike for his reform agenda had been well and truly replaced by a minister who is clearly in the Perrottet pro-development at any price camp. There was a faint hint of revenge floating through the air at the time.

What could possibly go wrong? Well this……...

The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 March 2022:

NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts scrapped a requirement to consider the risks of floods and fires before building new homes only two weeks after it came into effect and while the state was reeling from a deadly environmental disaster.

Mr Roberts last week revoked a ministerial directive by his predecessor Robert Stokes outlining nine principles for sustainable development, including managing the risks of climate change, a decision top architects have branded “short-sighted” and hard to understand.

But a spokesperson for Mr Roberts said the minister had been “given a clear set of priorities to deliver a pipeline of new housing supply and act on housing affordability” by Premier Dominic Perrottet.

The president of the NSW chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects, Laura Cockburn, said the decision was difficult to understand “after the recent devastating floods and with bushfires still scorched in our memory”.

The revoked directives had sought to address “risk-management and resilience-building in the face of such disasters”, Ms Cockburn said.

“In the midst of our current flood and housing crises, why would a government choose to remove planning principles aimed at disaster resilience, and delivering affordable housing?” she said. “This is a short-sighted decision that could have enduring negative impacts.”

Mr Roberts’ spokesperson said: “The minister did not consider that the planning principles due to take effect on March 1 would assist in delivering his priorities so discontinued the principles and issued a new ministerial direction to that effect.”

Mr Roberts’ move coincides with expectations the government will also scrap or substantially change the new Design and Place State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) under consideration for apartments and homes. The policy stresses sustainability, quality and liveability by requiring, for example, better ventilation.

Mr Stokes’ directive on sustainable development, issued on December 2 but in effect from March 1, was designed to simplify the planning system, cut red tape and put people first. It said housing should meet the needs of the present “without compromising those of the future”. It was scrapped on March 14.

These principles are also reflected in the new design policy developed by the office of the State Architect. It is being reviewed.

Mr Stokes directed the planning department, developers and councils to also consult Indigenous landowners, consider the risk of climate change, and provide the public with information about the risks of natural disasters where they developed, lived or worked.

“Land use should be compatible with the level of risk of an area, such as open space or playing fields in flood-prone locations,” Mr Stokes’ statement of principles said.

Many in the property industry expect Mr Roberts will abandon plans for the new Design and Place SEPP……

Stephen Albin, an analyst and principal of consultants Urbanised, advised Mr Stokes on the scotched principles.

He was disappointed to see Mr Stokes’ principles abandoned when NSW’s planning system needed reform. “The definition of stupidity is doing something again and again, and expecting another result,” he said. “We wanted a modern planning system that was inclusive.”…..

NOTES

1. All copies of the Stokes version of Minister’s Planning Principles have been removed from NSW Government websites and replaced by Robert’s new version.

NSW North Coast Local Land Services is looking for a full-time Emergency Management Coordinator in March 2022

Given the adverse weather events currently being experienced across Northern NSW and climate change promising more unwelcome experiences to come, I'm not sure whether this would be considered an enviable job......

Echo, 8 March 2022:

So, you think you can manage an emergency?

Lismore flood. Photo Darren Bridge

All over the Northern Rivers, amateur crisis response co-ordinators have filled a vacuum left by under-resourced and under-prepared official agencies.

Most community volunteers have felt little other choice and getting paid for the pleasure of helping their neighbours is unlikely to enter their minds.

But doesn’t hard work deserve decent pay? Like, around the $100K mark?

Perhaps it’s time we reconsidered a disaster response system based largely on volunteerism, especially when studies in recent years show fewer and fewer Australians have time to volunteer thanks to work and family pressures.

Emergency work in paradise 

Live and work in Paradise! Photo supplied.

Enter: the NSW government’s Emergency Management Coordinator.

It’s a newly advertised position with a starting salary of around $99K plus super.

An ad for the full time Local Land Services job position earlier this week said it included responsibility for the central & North Coasts including Newcastle, the Hunter Valley, Port Macquarie, Lismore and the Far North Coast.

The job location was negotiable, the ad said…..

The Emergency Management Coordinator would have to be adept at ‘functioning in an operating environment of change where risks and issues require challenging responses’, the ad read.

Other requirements for the role were:

• demonstrated experience in emergency response management situations;

• an ability to negotiate with stakeholders and customers;

• an ability to plan and make recommendations with respect to preparedness for, response to and recovery from biosecurity and natural disaster emergencies impacting landholders;

• previous experience in managing and undertaking a range of projects and associated activities with a view to achieving outcomes.

The successful candidate also needed a current NSW Driver License and an ‘ability and willingness to travel throughout the North Coast Region, including overnight stays’, the ad read.

The new Emergency Management Coordinator would have to report to the government’s ‘Team Leader Partnerships’, form productive relationships with regional stakeholders and provide advice to landholders.......

Country Womens Association at Tabulam providing better facilities to serve the local community in times of disaster

 

From the Office of NSW Labor MLA for Lismore, Janelle Saffin, media release, 22 July 2021:

How a shower makes a huge difference to a community

BETTER FACILITIES: CWA Tabulam President Vicki Stebbins briefs Janelle Saffin MP and Ben Franklin MLC on the new amenities at their rooms.

STATE Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin has praised CWA Tabulam for their efforts in providing better facilities to serve the local community in times of disaster.

Last Saturday (17 July), Ms Saffin and Ben Franklin MLC inspected the new CWA shower facilities in Tabulam funded under the NSW Government’s 2019 Community Building Partnership Program.

Ms Saffin said the shower will make a big difference.

“The CWA told me that during the 2019 bushfires in Tabulam people would turn up to their rooms covered in ash, wanting somewhere to get cleaned up, but the CWA did not have shower facilities,” Ms Saffin said.

“That crisis prompted the CWA to apply for this grant.

“It is so good to be able to inspect these new facilities that have been built under the Community Building Partnership Program.

“I acknowledge the support of Premier Gladys Berejiklian in ensuring the entire cost of the facilities was covered by the funding.

“The small CWA Tabulam branch plays a big role in the community, including providing an evacuation centre during disasters such as fires and floods,” Ms Saffin said.

“I commend their work and also their initiative in applying for the NSW Government grant that will make a real difference to the support they can offer.”

Nationals Member of the Legislative Council Ben Franklin said it was wonderful to join Ms Saffin and the CWA to celebrate their new shower.

“The Black Summer Bushfires were absolutely shattering and I commend the CWA for their outstanding support to the community in their time of need,” Mr Franklin said.

“The new shower is a game-changer should we be faced with another disaster like in 2019 and it cannot be underestimated the level of comfort and support this new facility will provide when people need it most.

“The NSW Government’s Community Building Partnership is designed to provide funding for positive infrastructure projects and there can be no doubt that CWA Tabulam is an incredibly deserving recipient.”