My apologies to North Coast Voices readers. Have temporarily run out of puff. Posting again on Saturday.
Thursday 23 February 2023
Wednesday 22 February 2023
Northern NSW State of Play 2023: seven days out from the first anniversary of that catastrophic unnatural disaster, the Lismore & Northern Rivers Floods of 2022
⚡️⚡️NEWS FLASH ⚡️⚡️We are just about to hit the 1 year anniversary since the #LismoreFloods & just 1 person has been offered a buyback leaving 6999 people in limbo. My son & I were rescued from partners home (pic below). My partner has not even received a phone call #nswpol #fail pic.twitter.com/duPLUb7bY7
— Eddie Lloyd (@worldzonfire) February 19, 2023
The Guardian, 20 February 2023:
In February the hills and valleys of the New South Wales northern rivers are green and lush and fertile in the late summer sun. There is brightness in the madly proliferating tropical flora, radiance in the golden hour of the evening.
In the towns the mud has gone, mostly, and the smell too has faded; a semblance of normality returned to the main streets. As the foliage has returned, the devastation of the 2022 floods is more hidden now; the scale of what happened. The people who are changed.
As the anniversary of the disaster approaches, along with the cyclone season, for those left in the flood’s wake the impact is still unfolding. When the flood waters receded a year ago, for many, the disaster was only beginning.
“You could hazard a guess that something like 15 to 20,000 people were impacted,” says Professor James Bennett Levy from the University of Sydney Centre for Rural Health. “I would say there’s been huge collective trauma as well as individual trauma.”
“If I am doing a community event,” says Naomi Vaotuua, recovery and resilience officer for the Red Cross, “I will literally have grown men crying in my arms because it’s a cloudy day and they thought they were doing alright but they have been triggered.”
Kerry Pritchard, coordinator of recovery Hub 2484 in Murwillumbah, says: “I guess what is surfacing now is more residual complex trauma. We feel like we are still very much in the middle of it, at the coalface of supporting people. That is both in terms of rebuilding in a physical sense and also healing from that traumatic event.”
The northern rivers floods were Australia’s biggest natural disaster since Cyclone Tracy in 1974. It was the second-costliest event in the world for insurers in 2022, and the most expensive disaster in Australian history. Many residents had found premiums unaffordable and had no insurance at all.
The Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation (NRRC), funded by the federal and NSW governments, is currently assessing over 6,000 flood-impacted residences for buyback, raising or retrofit.
A survey released this month by Southern Cross University revealed that nine months after the event, at the end of 2022, almost 52% of flood victims were living in the shells of homes that had flooded; 26% were living in temporary accommodation such as caravans, sheds or pods, or with friends or family; 18% were living in insecure accommodation such as tents or temporary rentals; and 4% were no longer living in the region.
The departure of thousands of locals is one of the things that broke the heart of city councillor and executive director of Resilient Lismore, Elly Bird. “They are disconnected from their community and the people they went through that experience with and disconnected from our recovery journey and support. They are probably having a hard time,” Bird says.
Hanabeth Luke, senior lecturer in science and engineering at Southern Cross University, and one of the researchers behind the survey, said she was “shocked to see the low, low levels of mental health. Twenty percent of people said they were coping with the stresses and challenges of recovery and 60% said they were not coping.”
It is the housing uncertainty causing mental health strain, Luke says; the stress of “not being able to move forward, making do without a clear plan”. People live in substandard dwellings while they wait on government assessments or insurance payouts, not knowing whether to fix a house or if they might get a buyback. People camp out in caravans outside dilapidated abandoned houses, houses they are still paying mortgages and rates for. Families squeeze into a single motel room where they are not allowed to cook or have their pets.
Up until last month, the Koori Kitchen was still serving around around 700 free meals a day at Browns Creek car park in Lismore, says Koori Mail general manager Naomi Moran. It was forced to close as the council wanted the car spaces back to help support local business recovery.
These things take their toll.
“What has been found is that the more you were likely to have been scared of injury or death, the higher the likelihood of PTSD,” says Bennett Levy. “Similarly, the more extensive the inundation the more likelihood of significant mental health issues. If we go back to the data we can say that the people who are displaced from home for more than six months are at very high risk of PTSD.”
Pritchard sees the data borne out in real life. “A year out and people are just worn down, they’re exhausted, they’re losing hope and just can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. We’re seeing a lot of suicidal ideation.” People who have always worked hard and supported themselves find themselves having to ask for help, she says. “There are a lot of feelings of shame and impotency around that.”
Those who could afford insurance are now coming to the end of the 52 weeks of temporary accommodation paid for by their insurers. For those locals, there is anxiety about whether they will get into the 11 pod villages built by Resilience NSW across the region. The villages aim to house 1,800 people for up to three years. Another 300 people are still in emergency accommodation…..
Read the full article here.
Southern Cross University, New Southern Cross study reveals ongoing housing and mental health challenges for flood-affected, 7 February 2023:
A new Southern Cross University survey has shown almost 50 per cent of Northern Rivers flood victims were still displaced nine months after the devastating floods and landslides of 2022.
The survey, conducted by Southern Cross researchers in the latter months of last year, aimed to gain a better understanding of the ongoing struggles faced by flood-affected communities. The results paint a stark picture.
Of the 800 survey respondents, 52 percent were back living in a home that had flooded, while 26 per cent were either living in temporary accommodation such as caravans, sheds or pods, or with friends and family. A staggering 18 per cent of people reported they were living in ‘other’ insecure or crisis accommodation such as tents or temporary rentals and four per cent were no longer living in the region.
One fifth of respondents reported it was hard to find out what support was available to them, suggesting insufficient variety in information channels used to communicate with flood-affected residents. Additionally, nearly one third of insured survey respondents reported being ineligible for an insurance payout, and many cited excessive bureaucracy as a major barrier to accessing funding for recovery efforts. Survey respondents had to fill out an average 6-8 forms each to receive any financial assistance.
The Insurance Council of Australia estimates the cost of the 2022 east coast floods to be around AUD $5 billion in insurance damages. The Southern Cross survey results showed that while the most common cost of the flood was between $201,000-$500,000 to each respondent, the most common maximum amount received at the time of completing the survey was a tenth of that, at $21,000-$50,000.
"The findings of this survey are a sobering reminder of the ongoing impact of the floods on the Northern Rivers community," said lead researcher Dr Hanabeth Luke.
“Flooding has affected dozens of rural and urban communities around the country and continues to do so, most recently in Western Australia. There are important learnings from this that can guide us and others to be better prepared next time,” she said.
Elly Bird, Executive Director of Resilient Lismore – a community organisation and partner in the survey – said "just 20 per cent of respondents report they are coping with the stresses and challenges of recovering from the floods, and more than 80 per cent agree that community hubs have been essential to their recovery.
“Nearly 60 per cent of respondents still need help with access to tradespeople, and more than 45 per cent require access to building materials. This is holding up the recovery and needs to be addressed urgently.”
Many respondents reported not ‘being able to plan’ as a significant challenge.
The majority (96 per cent) of survey respondents saw community preparedness as most important for mitigating future events, with engineering solutions receiving a lower level of support than all other options.
"This study is a crucial tool in the ongoing efforts of our community to build back. Tapping into the experiences of those affected will help shape services and streamline processes and hold us in better stead for future events,” said Ms Bird.
Download the survey results here [PDF]
A year on and people still don’t know what the Government is going to do.
— Donatello (@Donatello_Oz) February 20, 2023
The NSW Gov has failed the Northern Rivers.
Tuesday 21 February 2023
Yamba community pushes for Treelands Drive Community Centre to be expanded to include a library, carpark and commercial grade kitchen
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IMAGE: Supplied
Col Shephard (left), Vice Chair of Yamba CAN: Community Action Network handed the Treelands Drive Community Centre petition to Clarence Valley Mayor Ian Tiley (right) on Tuesday, 14 February 2023.
In just 7 days 385 hardcopy signatures (28 pages) and 106 online signatures were collected totalling a petition print out of 491 signatures.
The petition reads:
“Action requested:
We, the undersigned, request the Mayor and Councillors of Clarence Valley ensure:
1. The expansion of the existing TDCC [Treelands Drive Community Centre] to at least include a library, commercial kitchen, and carpark.
2. Council undertakes community consultation for Option B inviting residents to group gatherings and exhibitions.
3. Residents’ suggestions for the expansion are fully considered in consultation with residents.”
The mayor was informed that Yamba CAN recognised that Clarence Valley Council Petition Policy states that:
Petitions to Council are not specifically covered by legislation. However, the Local Government Act 1993 encourages effective participation of local communities in the affairs of local government. Council deals with petitions in keeping with this principle.
I am sure every resident or ratepayer who has signed the petition to date is hoping that it will be seriously considered by Council in the Chamber.
Yamba CAN is still collecting as many signatures as possible up to 27 February, the day prior to the Ordinary Monthly Council Meeting and, hoping as many people as possible can attend this council meeting on Tuesday 28 February 2023 commencing 2pm in Maclean Council Chambers in order to observe councillors' deliberations.
To sign the petition online go to:
https://www.change.org YambaTreelandsDriveCommunityCentre
If you as a Yamba resident wanting a large, fully accessible modern library situated within town's second principal shopping precinct — with adequate parking and an existing sheltered bus stop outside for those without cars — now is the time to speak up.
Especially if you are one of the 37.7 per cent of local residents who are aged 65 years and older (including the est. 1,837 who are 70 years of age to over 85 years), or are among the est. 70.6 per cent who have a significant chronic health problem (many of whom have mobility issues) or who are a parent (and chauffer) to one of the est. 1,079 children who are potential users of local library facilities. [ABS Census 2021, Yamba (NSW) All Persons, Quick Stats, retrieved 20 February 2023]
Monday 20 February 2023
And the news just keeps getting worse for the NSW Perrottet Government five weeks out from the 25 March 2023 state election
The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 February 2023:
The NSW government is in disarray just five weeks from the state election as one of Premier Dominic Perrottet’s most senior ministers and closest confidants was forced to quit cabinet after it emerged he owned shares in the tolling company that controls most of Sydney’s motorways.
The premier was also forced to reveal on Friday that one of his parliamentary secretaries had stood down amid a scandal involving intimate photos he shared.
Finance minister and leader of the government in the Legislative Council Damien Tudehope quit just hours after he confirmed he held shares in Transurban, which owns the majority of tolling concessions across Sydney, including WestConnex, NorthConnex and the M2.
Perrottet sought legal advice on Friday afternoon over whether Tudehope “knowingly breached” any disclosure rules under the ministerial code of conduct.
In a statement late on Friday, Perrottet confirmed the advice from the Department of Premier and Cabinet had “cleared Damien” however Tudehope had decided to resign from cabinet…..
Upper House MLC Peter Poulos resigned on Friday from his secretary role amid internal anger after an admission he shared explicit images of Hawkesbury MP Robyn Preston in the lead-up to a bitter preselection battle. Poulos has apologised to Preston, who modelled as a Penthouse “pet” in the 1980s.
In a major embarrassment for Perrottet, Tudehope on Friday confirmed he held shares in tolling giant Transurban, which owns the majority of tolling concessions across Sydney, including the WestConnex motorway, NorthConnex and the M2.
Tudehope said he had unknowingly held the shares in a family superannuation fund, but insisted he gave a “printout of the assets” contained within that fund to both Perrottet and former premier Gladys Berejiklian.
He said the Transurban shares were sold overnight, and conceded they had risen in value considerably since he was appointed minister in 2019. Tudehope said he would donate to charity any profit he made, which he expected to be about $6000.
Tudehope said he did not recuse himself from cabinet over discussions involving Transurban because he did not know he owned the shares as the superannuation fund was managed by a fund manager…..
[my yellow highlighting]
Financial Review, 17 February 2023:
Transurban recently reported record half-year earnings of $1.66 billion, boosted by some $835 million in tolls collected from Sydney drivers over the course of the past six months.
Mr Tudehope was a cabinet minister during the Berejiklian government’s decision to sell the WestConnex toll road to Transurban for $11 billion in 2021. More recently, he took part in a number of cabinet decisions to provide toll relief to NSW drivers.
Earlier, he denied being “involved in any discussions relating to WestConnex” and claimed he “was not on the relevant committee or relevant cabinet meetings”.
“The first thing is whether there was a significant impact, and whether I knowingly breached the code of conduct, and I have to say, I didn’t know that I held those shares at the time that I participated in policy decisions relating to Transurban,” he said.
It should be noted that Liberal MLC Damian Francis Tudehope has been a Member of the Legislative Council since 23 March 2019 having previously been a Member of the Legislative Assembly from 28 March 2015 to 1 March 2019.
He had been NSW Minister for Finance as well as Minister for Employee Relations since 21 December 2021, having been appointed to both ministries by Premier Perrottet.
On 21 December he also became Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council and Vice-President of the Executive Council.
Damian Tudehope is reported as resigning as NSW Minister for Finance, Minister for Employee Relations and Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council on Friday 17 February 2023. Presumably he also resigned from the Executive Council.
Tudehope had previously been finance & small business minister during the Berejiklian Government years from 2 April 2019 to 21 December 2021.
Before entering parliament he practiced as a solicitor.
Interestingly, Damian Tudehope had been Chair of the Committee on the Independent Commission Against Corruption from 3 June 2015 to 22 February 2019 and, a Member of the Standing Committee on Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics from 29 March 2017 to 22 February 2019. Committee terms which should have seen him well acquainted with the ins and outs of of issues such as pecuniary interests and conflicts of interest.
According to ABC News on 17 February 2023; ...like Mr Perrottet, [Damien Tudehope] has links to the the Catholic Church's conservative Opus Dei organisation.
It appears the families may know each other well. The Linkedin entry of the premier’s younger brother Jean-Claude Perrottet shows that he was an Electoral Officer for Damian Tudehope MP from March 2018 to March and 2019 and Policy Advisor for Damian Tudehope MLC Minister for Finance and Small Business.
The “family superannuation fund” to which Mr. Tudehope was referring is possibly a self-managed superannuation fund titled Claiyear Pty Limited ATF The Tudehope Superannuation Fund (est.1998) or perhaps even Imtaga Pty Limited ATF Tudehope Family Trust (est.1985), as set out in his Disclosures By Members Of The Legislative Council form dated 31 March 2021. Although the latter registered company was missing from his disclosure of pecuniary interest form signed on 20 September 2022.
ASX Graph of Transurban Group (TCL) Share Price & Dividends issued 14 March 1996 to 17 February 2023
 |
| https://www2.asx.com.au/markets/company/tcl |
This graph shows 20 dividend issues to shareholders over a 10 year period. Not a shareholding one would normally expect to be overlooked in the investment portfolio of any politician.
As a member of the NSW Upper House Damian Tudehope does not stand for re-election until his term of service expires at the end of the 58th Parliament (05 Mar 2027).
It is not outside the bounds of possibility that if the Perrottet Government is re-elected on 25 March 2023, Damian Tudehope will be restored by Premier Perrottet to a Cabinet-level ministry or ministries and a place on the Executive Council.
In fact as recently as last Saturday, Premier Perrottet left the door open to reinstating Tudehope after 25 May; "Mr Perrottet, who described Mr Tudehope as a man of "the highest integrity and honesty", was quizzed on Saturday about whether he would consider making him a minister again post March 25. "I'll make those decisions in due course," the Premier told reporters."
The last time Damian Tudehope did Dominic Perrottet a favour — by vacating his Lower House seat in order for Perrottet to contest the 2019 election in a preferred safe seat — he was amply rewarded. I have a strong suspicion that both men understand that he will be similarly favoured this time around.
UPDATE
In an effort to walk back just one of the Premier's errors of judgement the NSW Liberal Party has acted.....
The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 February 2023:
"This afternoon, the State Director, in consultation with the State President, exercised campaign powers to suspend Peter Poulos from the NSW Division for a period of 6 months," a spokesperson for the Liberal Party said in a statement.
This in no way stops Poulos standing as a nominal Independent at the 25 March state election. Nor does preclude him changing from Independent MLC back to Liberal MLC in 2024 should he be re-elected in 33 days time.
BACKGROUND
North Coast Voices
Friday, 17 February 2023
And the rolling political disasters continue to arrive on NSW Premier Perrottet's doorstep
Sunday 19 February 2023
Lismore City and Tweed Shire among 15 regional councils making regional housing a key election issue in 2023
Western Advocate, 16 February 2023, p.3:
An alliance representing 15 regional cities from across the state - including Bathurst - is calling for bipartisan support for measures to increase housing stock amidst a regional rental crisis and skills shortage.
Regional Cities NSW (RCNSW) says the lack of available housing in regional towns across NSW is a "risk to regional growth" and are calling for both the Liberal party and Labor party to commit to doing more to address the housing shortage.
"Regional living is well and truly on the agenda, however the lack of available housing is impacting people's ability to move to the regions," said Dubbo Regional Council mayor Matthew Dickerson, chair of RCNSW.
"Housing availability has been severely impacted by numerous natural disasters across our state as well as major infrastructure projects requiring temporary accommodation."
As well as Dubbo, RCNSW represents Albury, Queenbeyan, Coffs Harbour, Griffith, Goulburn, Maitland, Bathurst, Broken Hill, Wagga Wagga, Orange, Armidale, Lismore, Tweed Heads and Tamworth.
The alliance aims to grow regional cities in NSW through increased investment that will build "productive, liveable and connected regions". One of the main challenges impeding growth, says RCNSW, is a shortage of suitable housing.
"Housing availability and affordability are major issues for regional cities resulting from recent population increases," said Cr Dickerson.
"Other critical areas requiring the support of the state government include having a supply of skilled workers to match demand, building road and rail connectivity between Sydney and regional cities and building the strength of the Port of Newcastle."
According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, between 2011 and 2022, regional NSW's population grew by 224,5001 - the equivalent to creating a new regional city the size of Bathurst every two years……
[my yellow highlighting]
BACKGROUND
On 14 February 2023 Regional Cities NSW (RCNSW) announced regional housing as a key election issue in the forthcoming 25 March state election.
The Regional Cities New South Wales Members are;
Tamworth Regional Council;
Albury City Council;
Queanbeyan-Palerang Council;
Coffs Harbour City Council;
Griffith City Council;
Maitland City Council;
Bathurst Regional Council;
Wagga Wagga City Council;
Orange City Council;
Armidale Regional Council;
Dubbo Regional Council;
Lismore City Council;
Broken Hill City Council;
Goulburn Mulwaree Council; and
Tweed Shire Council.
On 28 March 2011 the O'Farrell Coalition Government came to power in New South Wales.
It was followed in April 2014 by the Baird Coalition Government, then in January 2017 by the Berejiklian Coalition Government and lastly, in October 2021 by the current Perrottet Coalition Government.
If anything an already dire social housing situation has been made worse since Dominic Perrottet & Co have held the reigns of state government.
Yahoo! News, 4 January 2023:
The waiting list of people needing social housing in NSW has increased for the first time since 2016, with about 1000 more people in line for a home.
As of June 2022, there were 51,031 approved for social housing and waiting for a property to become available, compared to 49,928 the year before.
The number has steadily decreased since 2016 when the figure hit 59,907. Before this it had varied between about 55,000 and 60,000 since 2012. [my yellow highlighting]
In March 2022 the mainstream media was reporting that a surge in regional rental prices – in part driven by tree changes during coronavirus lockdowns – as well as stagnant wage growth had created a housing affordability crisis which was exacerbated by a fall in rental housing stock in Northern NSW due to widespread flooding.
Rental stress is experienced by more than 60 per cent of renters living in the regional NSW electorates – of Page, Cowper and Lyne – along the northern NSW coast. Source: Everybody's Home. IMAGE: news.com.au, 21 March 2022
The following month The Guardian reported on 16 April 2022:
The New South Wales government has sold off $3bn worth of social housing during its decade in power, while failing to meet its own targets for new properties.
New figures released through parliament this week show that since it was first elected in 2011, the Coalition has sold off 4,205 social housing properties across the state.
The sales have added about $3.5bn to the government’s coffers over the same period.
But while the government said all of those funds were used to prove “more, and better” social housing stock, data for new social housing constructions reveal the government has fallen well behind its own targets for new dwellings.
In 2016, the Coalition pledged to build 23,000 new social housing dwellings in the next decade as part of its Future Directions housing strategy. It committed to funding new social housing construction through the $22bn Communities Plus program.
But eight years on, with more than 50,000 people on the social housing wait list in the state, the Communities Plus program has achieved only 10% of that goal.
[my yellow highlighting]
Saturday 18 February 2023
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Tweet of the Week
The green comet greeting the red planet last night pic.twitter.com/OpmEbopWIo
— Bray Falls (@astrofalls) February 11, 2023
"The Green Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF encountered Mars, the Red Planet on the evening of 2/10/2023. A view that will never be seen again!" Astrophysics Consulting
Note: Quote uses US dating convention.
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