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.
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.
