Showing posts with label people power. Show all posts
Showing posts with label people power. Show all posts
Sunday 20 November 2022
Monday 14 November 2022
NSW KOALA CONFERENCE - THE VANISHING: Science, Koala Carers and Politicians
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| Koala Conference- The Vanishing 29 October 2022 Group photograph IMAGE: supplied |
The growing community concern about the plight of koalas in NSW and the lack of effective government action to protect them led to an important koala conference being held in Coffs Harbour on Saturday October 29. The conference was organised by former MLC Catherine Cusack, and conservation organisations - NSW Nature Conservation Council (NCC), National Parks Association of NSW (NPA), the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The conference title - “The Vanishing” - highlighted the fact that koalas in this state are sliding towards extinction – an outcome which was a finding in the NSW Legislative Council’s comprehensive 2019-2020 inquiry “Koala Populations and Habitat in NSW”.
Conference Convener Catherine Cusack said, “Our koala populations have been devastated by drought, fire and disease. They are clinging on in fragments of habitat that continues to be reduced by housing development, poorly located infrastructure, logging and land clearing.”
The conference was attended in person by 180 people from around the state with a further 180 or so listening online.
Speakers included local first nations’ representatives (Gumbaynggirr), scientists, representatives from leading conservation groups, local campaigners from koala risk hotspots and state politicians.
Early in the proceedings three scientists provided information on results of their koala research.
Dr Steve Philips, an internationally recognised expert on koalas, who has been involved with their conservation for more than 40 years, discussed the decline in koala numbers in a range of areas he has studied. In these areas this decline occurred over a 30-year time frame and at the same rate in each area. Changing the species’ conservation status did not arrest the decline. He also discussed koalas preferred feed trees and pointed out that if these are taken from the landscape koalas will not exist in those areas. Dr Philips believes that doubling the current koala population by 2050 – a plan of the current NSW Government – is not feasible and will not happen. However, he emphasised that we have the knowledge to bring about a recovery.
Ecologist Dr Kara Youngentob is particularly interested in how plant nutritional qualities and other environmental factors influence the distribution and abundance of leaf eating animals like koalas. Her research has shown that there are differences in nutritional values of trees even of the same species and koalas will be more abundant where the nutritional value is higher. Koalas prefer big tree forests which remain cooler than regrowth forests. This has implications for their survival as climate change impacts grow.
Professor Mark Krockenberger who has worked on diseases of koalas for the last 25 years – particularly on cryptococcosis and chlamydiosis stated that disease drives population decline. He gave the example of the decline in numbers on the Liverpool Plains where Chlamydia is rampant and a major problem with that disease is that it causes infertility.
Koala carers and campaigners reported on their local situations and highlighted the continuing decline in koala numbers in their areas. They included Josie O’Connell (Bega Shire), Patricia Durman (South West Sydney), Sue Ashton (Port Macquarie), Robert Frend (Gunnedah), Lorraine Vass (Northern Rivers) and Paula Flack (Coffs region).
Important contributions were also made by key conservationists - Dailan Pugh (NEFA), Gary Dunnett (NPA), Dr Stuart Blanch (WWF) – as well as Cerin Loane (Environmental Defenders Office) and Dr Sally Townley (Deputy Mayor of Coffs Harbour).
Given the widespread view that there is a need for effective political action, the speeches by the politicians were of considerable interest.
Penny Sharpe MLC, Labor’s Shadow Environment Minister, spoke of the former Labor Government’s record on the creation of national parks and their native vegetation legislation. Unsurprisingly she was very critical of the current government’s policy. Sharpe condemned its failure to take action on the Natural Resources Commission report recommending changes to operations in State Forests which were hit hard by the 2019-2020 bushfires. She also said the Government’s latest koala strategy would oversee further decline in koalas rather than being a plan to stabilise NSW populations. On a more positive note, she stated that that the report from the Legislative Council koala inquiry provided many good suggestions and that if Labor won government, she promised they would act as quickly as possible to implement a recovery plan.
James Griffin MP, Liberal Member for Manly, Minister for the Environment, was the second politician to address the gathering. Predictably his address claimed that his Government’s actions would see an improvement in koala numbers.
Cate Faehrmann MLC (Greens) spoke about the importance of the koala inquiry which she chaired. She believes the money the Government has announced for their koala plan would be much better being directed to saving koala habitat which is a major driver of the species’ decline. Faehrmann supports phasing out logging in public native forests and wants the koala inquiry recommendations to be used to put pressure on candidates in the State Election in March.
The final political speaker was former Liberal MLC Catherine Cusack who was another member of the Legislative Council committee which conducted the koala inquiry. As a North Coast resident, she understands only too well how koalas are under threat in this region. She spoke about her experience as a member of the current NSW Government in trying to get effective action to protect them from extinction. Along with many others concerned about koala survival, she was hopeful that her government would respond well to the koala inquiry recommendations.
Initially the Inquiry prediction that koalas in NSW were heading for extinction by 2050, put the Government under pressure to improve koala protection. However, the Nationals, the Liberals’ coalition partners, jibbed at placing restrictions on rural landholders and the so-called “Koala Wars” began. Leading players were former Nationals leader John Barilaro and local North Coast Nationals MPs including Member for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis. After initially standing up to the Nationals’ demands, the Government caved in and weakened the legislation. Cusack suspects this was the result of a deal between the coalition partners where the Liberals weakened their legislation in exchange for the Nationals’ acceptance of the Liberals’ climate legislation plans.
Cusack now believes that individual action by politicians will not bring change and what is required is collective action by citizens. If this collective action is large enough, it will force politicians to act much more effectively. The Coffs Harbour conference was held as a way of galvanising this collective citizen reaction in the lead up to the state election on March 3rd, 2023.
As current government action will not save koalas from extinction in NSW by 2050 and, as we have the knowledge to bring about a recovery, the galvanising of community action before the state election is vitally important.
Leonie Blain
Northern Rivers
Tuesday 25 October 2022
STATE OF PLAY NSW 2022: In a changing climate is your local council and the regional planning panel in your area really taking into consideration all state policies, acts & regulations applicable to flooding?
In a changing climate whose effects and negative impacts have been driven home to NSW communities since the mega bushfires of 2019 and the increasingly heavy rainfall events across the state, there is a need for communities to ensure their wellbeing and safety is paramount in the minds of all those making policy and/or planning decisions concerning the local government areas and regions in which they live.
The widespread and catastrophic flooding to date in 2022 highlighting the need to ask this particular question.
Is my local council and, the NSW regional planning panel in my area which has authority to consent to state significant and high dollar value development applications, really obeying all the planning instructions that have been put in place since 2020?
In July 2021, the NSW Government updated its guidance to councils on considering flooding in land-use planning.
Set out below is the "Flood prone land package" concerned residents, ratepayers and community groups can use as part of their own checklists when trying to ensure that proposed land releases and large-scale development applications have been genuinely assessed against growing flood risks.
Sunday 9 October 2022
Yamba CAN elected it's board and gained new members
Clarence Valley Independent, 5 October 2022:
The Yamba Community Action Network continues to gain momentum…..
A fresh injection of ideas and opinions greeted the stalwarts of Yamba CAN when they met at Wooli Street Hall on Wednesday, September 28.
“We had about 50 people there which was fantastic and the majority of them were new people,” Mr Lamerton said.
“Twenty-two people joined Yamba CAN on the night.
“We had a really good mix of people there, a lot of new people and young people.
“Ten of the regular people who turn up to meetings were there so there were about 40 people who were new, which was great.
“We got the constitution ratified and we had a board elected all within about 30 minutes…...
“All in all, it a was a great productive meeting, people were energised and everyone saw the humour in the double-booking.”
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| The Yamba Community Action Network CAN committee (l to r) Lynne Cairns – Secretary; Patricia Cancannon – Minutes Secretary; Ian Warlters – Committee Member; James Lamerton – Chair; Lynnie Deacon – Committee Member; Alex Devantier – Deputy-Chair; Col Shepard – Treasurer. Image: contributed. |
Mr Lamerton said he and the elected Yamba CAN board of Lynnie Deacon, Lynne Cairns, Col Shephard, Alex Devantier, Ian Warlters, Patricia Concannon met on Saturday, October 2, to elect the committee.
The committee of Lynne Cairns – Secretary; Patricia Cancannon – Minutes Secretary; James Lamerton – Chair; Alex Devantier – Deputy-Chair; Col Shepard – Treasurer; Ian Warlters – Committee Member; Lynnie Deacon – Committee Member, was elected.
With the state election looming in March 2023, the Yamba CAN board has identified several issues and actions they will pursue.
“Once all candidates are preselected Yamba CAN will be holding a candidates forum for Yamba specifically,” Mr Lamerton said.
“We don’t want to hear about national and state politics, we just want to hear about issues around Yamba, so we’ll be inviting all endorsed candidates to that.
“Another focus is an absolute campaign that there will be no sale of the library and the Wooli Street Hall site, plus all of development in West Yamba.
“We will be telling the council in no uncertain terms that we are absolutely opposed to any potential sale of the Wooli Street Hall area, and that we have serious concerns about the Park Avenue development, and we strongly suggest council review that.
“We want Yamba to be a better place for our grandchildren than what it is for us now, and we can’t see that happening at the moment.”
Sunday 18 September 2022
Millionaire property developer Gordon Merchant's latest Yamba DA thwarted and next NRPP meeting may be deferred again re Hometown Australia's multi-dwelling Yamba DA
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| Image: Google Earth |
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING CANCELLATION –NORTHERN REGIONAL PLANNING PANEL
The following meeting has been cancelled:
· Panel reference number PPSNTH‐31 – Clarence Valley – SUB2019/0030 ‐ 52‐54 Miles St, Yamba ‐310 Lot Staged Residential Subdivision and ancillary infrastructure works including drainage reserves and the creation of a residue lot
The meeting was to be held on:
Wednesday, 21 September 2022 at 4pm
By teleconference
The meeting has been cancelled because the applicant has withdrawn the development application….
BACKGROUND
Clarence Valley Independent, 14 September 2022:
The Development Application DA for the $32 million staged residential subdivision located at the yet to be formed Miles Street, which runs east off Carrs Drive, was lodged with Clarence Valley Council CVC on behalf of Kahuna No 1 Pty Ltd, owners of the 42.5-hectare site.
The 850 metres by 500 metre site fronts Carrs Drive, with the to be constructed Miles Street and St James Primary School to the north, and Golding Street to the east.
CVC’s assessment report prepared by town planner James Hamilton notes the Kahuna Yamba Gardens DA was on public exhibition twice, with eight submissions received in the first exhibition period and 79 submissions from the most recent period.
“The Council received a total of 87 individual submissions, comprising 87 objections and no submissions in support of the proposed development,” Mr Hamilton’s report stated.
“The submissions raised issues relating to urban design, flooding, stormwater, traffic, filling, environment, services, climate change and sea level rise, heritage and impacts on the town.”
The assessment on the DA by Mr Hamilton listed six factors, including two endangered species, for refusal.
These factors for refusal included that The Rural Fire Service could not support the development under Section 100B of the Rural Fires Act 1997, and the fact the site contains two listed endangered flora species being Rotala tripartita and Spider orchid.
“Sufficient information has not been provided to enable a determination on how the proposed development will not likely have a serious and irreversible impact on these two species,” the assessment stated.
The DA was also found by council to be inconsistent with the General Residential, Flood Planning and Earthworks clauses of the Clarence Valley Local Environment Plan 2011.
“The proposal is inconsistent with the aims of Clarence Valley Local Environmental Plan 2011 as it has not been satisfactorily demonstrated that the proposed development will enable the sustainable development of the site, adequately protect areas of high ecological value and maintain the character of Yamba township,” the assessment stated.
CVC’s assessment also found the DA was inconsistent with numerous parts of the Clarence Valley Residential Zones Development Control Plan 2011, including Floodplain Management Controls, Sustainable Water Controls and Urban Release Area Controls…..
Watch this space for the next development application Mr. Merchant lodges on this land.
Meanwhile over in the Parkes Menai- Hometown Australia camp.....
It appears that Hometown Australia Management Pty Ltd's est. $33.9 million development application DA2021/0558 for 138 dwellings, an exhibition home and community facilities at 8 Park Ave, Yamba, may be deferred yet again by the Northern Regional Planning Panel (NRPP) as the NSW Dept. of Planning and Environment has not yet submitted its review of the flooding and risk evacuation procedures supplied by Hometown at the request of NRPP.
This is a proposed development with an unhappy history. The original land clearing and landfill under a Parkes Developments DA resulted in the unapproved felling of a significant number of native trees in the adjoining dedicated Wattle Park.
Further, although the original land fill on 8 Park Ave is estimated to have reached RL2.8AHD so that the site only has a 1% (1 in 100) chance in any given year of being surrounded by 2.08 to 2.51 metres of flood water, the stormwater flows from this approx. 6.65ha lot enter an inadequate on-site and extended drainage network.
Resulting in situations like this for established homes now at a comparatively altered ground level approx. 2.8m lower than the very large Park Ave lot.
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| Extract from a submission to Clarence Valley Council, 28 October 2021 |
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| Extract from a submission to Clarence Valley Council, 29 October 2021 - open ditch drain |
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| Extract from "West Yamba Update", West Yamba Information, 21 June 2022 - before and after height of common boundary with 8 Park Ave, Yamba |
This is a situation which during prolonged/high rainfall events is likely to exacerbate the 2-5% chance of mixed stormwater-riverine water inundation in adjacent streets and across a number of residential properties. As occurred in the March 2022.
Monday 30 May 2022
Meet the brand new Northern Rivers Member of the NSW Legislative Council, Sue Higginson
Echo, 27 May 2022:
As a brand new MLC, Sue Higginson’s first week in the NSW Upper House has been huge but she says it’s a taste of things to come.
Higginson was sworn in on May 12 and made her First Speech on Tuesday last week. Two days later, she voted after the Upper House spent 10 hours debating amendments to the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill, before a final vote of support 23 to 15. ‘I came in at the very end, basically, but my vote helped and supported and counted for voluntary assisted dying becoming law in New South Wales.’…..
Our endangered furry buddy
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| A precious tree faerie. Photo Tree Faerie. |
Higginson believes that the recent classification of the status of koalas to endangered will add leverage in the fight to save forests. ‘It has to. Having our national icon listed as endangered – only a step away from extinction – the science is on the table and the evidence is there. There is the legal acknowledgement that we are at the end of the road for koalas.
‘If we don’t pull out all the stops and do everything we can, we know what that means. We have to protect koalas where they live and their habitat right now. Part of that is our public native forests. And we’re still logging the crap out of them. We’ve got to stop.’……..
Sue Higginson MLC at Lismore’s Trees Not Bombs Community Recovery Café. ‘I’ve got five years. I’m a mature woman – I’m a mature woman on fire and I’ve got nothing to lose. I’ve got a five year plan.’ Photo Tree Faerie.
Now that she has taken her seat in the New South Wales Upper House she will be there for five years and Higginson is on a mission. ‘I’ve got five years. I’m a mature woman – I’m a mature woman on fire and I’ve got nothing to lose. I’ve got a five year plan and that plan is about improving action on climate and it is to protect our native forests once and for all. It’s to try to stop the absurdity of the extinction crisis and to level up the playing field in this inequality crisis that we experience, and all the things that that means.
‘And of course, fundamentally, it’s New South Wales’ turn to start working on First Nations justice properly,’ she said.
‘Seriously – truth, treaty and voice – we need to do that at the New South Wales level, and we need to do that at the Commonwealth level. That’s massive for me.’
Read the full article here.
Sue Higginson’s official biography at https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/members/Pages/Member-details.aspx?pk=2268
Sue is an environmental law expert and has practiced as a public interest environmental lawyer. She is the former Principal Solicitor and CEO of the Environmental Defenders Office, Australia's leading public interest environmental law centre.
Sue has been responsible for high profile environmental litigation in Australia. She has represented communities challenging mining giants, proponents of environmentally harmful development and holding Governments to account for the environment. She has delivered environmental legal services to rural, remote and regional communities and First Nations communities across NSW.
Sue has operated her own legal practice where in addition to her environmental legal practice, she assisted environmental protestors who came into contact with the criminal justice system as a result of their activities to protect the environment. She has represented hundreds of people in relation to forestry, mining and coal seam gas and climate change protests in courts across Australia.
Sue has lectured and taught environmental law in universities across NSW. She holds a Bachelor of Laws, with First Class Honours and was awarded the University Medal upon graduation.
Sue has sat on a number of Boards of not for profit charitable environmental organisations in Australia where she advised on governance and compliance.
Sue is a farmer, she grows dry land rice, and other crops, with her partner on their farm on the Richmond Floodplain in the Northern Rivers. Central to her farming practice is biodiversity management and conservation. Her farm is home to koalas, where she has planted thousands of trees to try to secure their future.
Ms. Higginson's term of service in the NSW Upper House expires on 5 March 2027, when hopefully she will consider standing for re-election.
Sunday 22 May 2022
Scott Morrison & his government soundly booted from office at the May 2022 Australian federal election
Voting closed in the Australia federal general election at 6pm on 21 May 2022.
It didn't take long to realise that Independent candidates were having an impact on first preference votes and that there was a swing against the Coalition Government developing in Liberal-held electorates.
It was all over bar the shouting by 10pm when it became increasingly evident that the Coalition was never going to gain enough seats to form government in its own right or as a minority government.
It was the Liberal Party itself which suffered the most electoral losses on the night - what looks like 23 seats predominately in New South Wales and Victoria. With the Liberal National Party of Queensland down another 3 seats.
Scott Morrison officially conceded defeat about an hour later.
The Labor MP for Grayndler for the last 28 years, Anthony Norman Albanese, is now the 31st Prime Minister of Australia.
The official Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) seat count at 2:11am on Sunday 22 May 2022 stood at:
Labor - 75 seats
Liberal-Nationals Coalition - 51 seats
Independents - 10 seats
it is not yet certain if Labor will gain enough seats to govern in its own right or will need to form a minority government with the assistance of the Greens and Independents.
This will perhaps become a little clearer as the vote count progresses today and during the coming week.
Interested readers can go to the AEC Tally Room to follow the count at:
Saturday 30 April 2022
Tweet of the Week
Breaking: Girard state forest defended!
— Australian Forests and Climate Alliance (@AFCA_Forests) April 26, 2022
A NSW blockade on Jukembal land today to prevent the logging of native forest. https://t.co/KGBFI2mtWd
Girard state forest is one of the last significant wildlife corridors between the Border Ranges NP and Bundjalung NP#worthmorestanding pic.twitter.com/JCPFxn09Xd
Tuesday 22 March 2022
So Scott Morrison is unhappy that flood ravaged Northern NSW is not servilely grateful for the announcements he had made so far in March 2022?
The situation in Northern NSW, March 2022
A group of seven women, who drove 700km from Lismore, set up stall outside Kirribilli House on Monday morning IMAGE: Daily Mail Australia, 21 March 2022
ABC News, 21 March 2022:
Angry Lismore residents have dumped wreckage from their flooded houses outside Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s official Sydney residence to call for climate action.
The protesters brought pieces of their homes, toys and other belongings which were destroyed by the deluge that devastated the Northern Rivers region, and dumped them outside the gates of Kirribilli House.
They held signs including: “Morrison your climate mega flood destroyed our homes”; “Lismore now, where next?”; and “Your climate inaction killed my neighbour”.
Lismore resident Kate Stroud said she wanted Mr Morrison to "understand the level of loss our community has been through".
“Imagine piles 50 times this size outside every house,” she said.
The truck was prevented from entering Kirribilli House premises.(ABC News: Phoebe Bowden)
Lismore resident Melveena Martin said people were angry Mr Morrison did not hold a public appearance where residents could share their stories.
The Prime Minister, who was in Queensland when the protest took place, travelled to Lismore after the floods but kept to a schedule of private appearances.
“To think that our Prime Minister came to our town and wouldn't even speak to us and hid from us is absolutely deplorable,” Ms Martin said.
Another resident, Koudra Falla, said: “I had to swim under my house at 3am in the morning in hectic rapids because we could hear our neighbours calling for help.”
In the hard-hit region of northern NSW, it is estimated that more than 3,000 homes in the Lismore local government area have been assessed as "not habitable".
At the height of the crisis, many residents waited for hours on roofs, surrounded by floodwaters, due to a lack of emergency personnel and equipment…..
The Guardian, 20 March 2022:
Residents in Lismore have been left with no choice but to move back into their houses that have been deemed uninhabitable, with some sleeping on swags in mouldy rooms without electricity, as they are unable to find safe accommodation three weeks after floods devastated the town.
Empty mobile homes wait to accommodate Lismore residents whose houses were damaged or destroyed in this month’s floods in the NSW northern rivers
In South Lismore – a low-lying part of the town that bore the brunt of historic flooding this year and an area well known for attracting residents seeking affordable housing – Guardian Australia spoke with multiple residents who had evacuated town following the floods but had returned to their homes in recent days.
The State Emergency Service had deemed more than 3,600 homes across the New South Wales northern rivers region as uninhabitable and on Friday some residents were living in homes that had been as assessed as such.
In one case, a homeowner had returned to their property which had been condemned for demolition after being assessed as structurally unsound, and had warning tape erected at its entrance, however they did not want to be interviewed.
Some homes in South Lismore were swept off their foundations, but they remained intact, despite needing renovations and structural repairs.
Residents in Lismore have been left with no choice but to move back into their houses that have been deemed uninhabitable, with some sleeping on swags in mouldy rooms without electricity, as they are unable to find safe accommodation three weeks after floods devastated the town.
In South Lismore – a low-lying part of the town that bore the brunt of historic flooding this year and an area well known for attracting residents seeking affordable housing – Guardian Australia spoke with multiple residents who had evacuated town following the floods but had returned to their homes in recent days.
The State Emergency Service had deemed more than 3,600 homes across the New South Wales northern rivers region as uninhabitable and on Friday some residents were living in homes that had been as assessed as such.
In one case, a homeowner had returned to their property which had been condemned for demolition after being assessed as structurally unsound, and had warning tape erected at its entrance, however they did not want to be interviewed.
Some homes in South Lismore were swept off their foundations, but they remained intact, despite needing renovations and structural repairs.
Stories of residents living in unsafe housing follow revelations in Guardian Australia that motor homes intended for Lismore residents whose houses were inundated in the floods were lying empty because linen and water sources had not been organised, while housing “pods” promised by the NSW government were yet to materialise.
On Crown Street, the Lee family’s home was deemed uninhabitable after flooding rose to about chest height on its elevated top floor. The family of four hosted four neighbours on the Sunday that waters rose, and all eight had to be rescued by a friend who had a boat on Monday 28 February.
After evacuating, brothers Ryan and Evan have slept at a variety of places, including at their grandparents’ home and on friends’ couches. Their parents also leaned on family and friends for accommodation.
While they were able to rely on people who opened their homes to them, countless other residents also required temporary accommodation.
The Lee family home on Crown Street, South Lismore. Photograph: David Maurice Smith/Oculi
And so on Monday, after weeks of living in cramped conditions with other flood evacuees, the Lee family made the difficult decision to return to their home, despite its status as uninhabitable.
“There was nowhere else left to go, that is the only reason why we’re back here,” said Evan, a 20-year-old student, who was sleeping on an old fold-out camping bed made of steel, less than a metre from his mother, who was sleeping on a blow-up mattress.
Ryan, a 21-year-old labourer, was sleeping on a swag in the next room, while their father, Andy, was sleeping at his brother’s house due to a back problem.
While water was running, the Lees were unsure if it was safe, so were drinking bottled water. The house relied on a portable generator for electricity, and its mountain of flood-ruined possessions in the front yard was yet to be collected.
“I’ve got no idea when it will be collected, but hopefully it’s within the next week because it’s starting to smell pretty bad,” Ryan said.
Outside, the smell of dried dirt and sewage lingered. Inside, water damage and mould was evident. It was hot inside the rooms, and flood damage left it largely unprotected from the elements.
The family had been told it would take more than six months for their home to be rebuilt and safe for them to move back in…... [my yellow highlighting]
News.com.au, 21 March 2022:
More than 65 per cent of renters living in a coastal Northern NSW electorate are experiencing rental stress and that was before unprecedented floods tore through communities.
Almost 3400 homes have been declared uninhabitable and a further 6708 were inundated by floodwaters during the floods, State Emergency Services Commissioner, Carlene York confirmed earlier this week.
More than 1000 people are still living in emergency accommodation and 134 remain in evacuation centres, while thousands take refuge in the homes in families and friends.
In the electorate of Page – inclusive of Lismore and Woodburn – 68 per cent of renters already had difficulty meeting their rental costs. While in the neighbouring electorate of Richmond – including Ballina, Mullumbimby and Tweed Heads – 44 per cent of renters are experiencing housing stress.
A surge in regional rental prices – in part driven by tree changes during coronavirus lockdowns – as well as stagnant wage growth are creating a housing affordability crisis.
Tony Davies, CEO of Social Futures has been working on the ground with north coast NSW communities in the aftermath of the flood crisis.
“Sleeping rough is the tip of the homelessness iceberg,” Mr Davies said of the region with an average income twenty per cent less than the rest of the state. “Rental stress has been very bad and worsening for some time”.
Just three per cent of housing stock in the Northern Rivers region can be categorised as community or affordable housing.
“We had people camped in camp grounds and getting evicted during the holiday season,” Mr Davies said of the situation before floods hit.
In the towns of Lismore and Murwillumbah, entire businesses that employ a number of locals have now been decimated by floodwaters.
“All of these people that have lost houses and jobs,” Mr Davies said. “There are people who may have been lucky to live on a hill but their employment is gone”.
He described people in their 80s living in cars and cancer patients without a roof over their head.
A group of 150 organisations – including corporates, unions, community and faith organisations – have written a joint letter to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg calling on him to allocate social housing investment into the upcoming budget…… [my yellow highlighting]
The 'new normal' Northern Rivers road travel experience for many.
The rain event that flooded Lismore collapsed landscapes.
— Annie Kia (@AnnieKia) March 19, 2022
It shattered hillsides. Roads broke apart and fell down valleys.
Hillsides fell on houses.
This thread gives a glimpse of the cost of inaction on #ClimateDisruption
1/ pic.twitter.com/SLFum4Lk2k
Australian Prime Minister & Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison’s Response, March 2022
Sky News, 21 March 2022:
Scott Morrison has defended the federal government's support measures in the wake of catastrophic flooding as he described the politicisation of natural disasters as unhelpful.
Mr Morrison's comments on Monday came amid protests outside Kirribilli House, the Prime Minister's official Sydney residence, over the government's slow response to the flood crisis in northern New South Wales.
"I think the politicisation of natural disasters is very unfortunate. Everyone is just working together to do the best they probably can to support people who are in terrible need," he said.
"My government's doing that, the state governments are doing that. Local councils are doing that. We're all working together to help people. And I don't think the politicisation of that is a helpful theme." …. [my yellow highlighting]
This "politicisation" response - from a politician whose personal income (over $10,000 per week plus free prime ministerial accommodation at two residential addresses, staff, car & subsidized travel) and net worth places him in the top 20% of Australian income earners - was apparently aimed at residents in a flood ravaged regional city which on a relative social-economic disadvantage decile scale would rank as a 4 (disadvantaged) out of 10 (least disadvantaged). In a flood ravaged region where an est. 25% of all people have an income between $0-$450 a week and another est. 30% would likely have been earning somewhere between $451-$800 a week pre-pandemic and pre-mega flood.
This is a man who clearly has no idea of what it is like to deal with trauma, loss, grief, homelessness, uncertainty and yes, fear. All the while knowing that there is a possibility that the major coastal rivers will flood again this year (perhaps more than once) and that an intransigent prime minister and federal government have no real understanding of this risk.
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