“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.

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.
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

— Annie Kia (@AnnieKia) March 19, 2022

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.

Sign of the climate change times?

To date in 2022 been appears to be 8 confirmed cases of Japanese Encephalitis with 1 death in New South Wales. 

Victims were potentially exposed to infected mosquitos in the following Local Government Areas; Balranald, Berrigan, Federation, Goulburn, Mulwaree, Griffith, Temora and Wentworth. 

Also 8 cases have been diagnosed in South Australia with 1 death, 7 cases in Victoria with 1 death and 2 cases in Queensland. 

The youngest known case was a 4 month-old baby boy left with ongoing medical issues as a result of the infection. 

The Japanese Encephalitis virus is transmitted through a bite from culex mosquitoes that have contracted the virus from infected animals, most commonly pigs and certain waterbirds.

This virus has now been identified in stock held at piggeries in all four states, reportedly including a piggery near Tenterfield in northern NSW.

Virologist believe that the recent outbreak of this mosquito-borne virus is due to excessive rainfall, flooding and climate change which have exacerbated its spread.

On 4 March 2022, Australia’s Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr Sonya Bennett, declared the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) situation a Communicable Disease Incident of National Significance. She determined a national approach was required in relation to coordination of health policy, interventions and public messaging.

Meanwhile in New South Wales almost three months into its third pandemic year, there were 212,797 confirmed COVID-19 cases recorded in the last 15 days, with est. 73 deaths due this disease. 

As at 4pm 19 March 2022 there were 202,419 active cases of COVID-19 spread across all 15 local heath districts within the state.

Northern NSW Floods February-March 2022: first the Prime Minister failed us, is he now setting out to betray us as well?

“The crisis was also the first true test of newly legislated powers introduced by the Commonwealth in response to royal commission recommendations following the unprecedented Black Summer bushfires – powers expressly designed for immediate and unilateral action by the federal government. These were not invoked until the 10th day of the flood event, when Morrison was able to get out of Covid-19 isolation and appear in Lismore personally for the announcement…..

There were three ADF helicopters in the air when conditions allowed on Monday, February 28, performing rescues of residents from their roofs and from churning floodwater. Clearly, any bureaucratic requirement for the ADF to become involved had already been triggered.

On March 4, the federal government offered NSW fewer than 300 Defence personnel for the flood crisis……

On March 5, almost a week after the Northern Rivers’ historic floods, the number of ADF personnel supposedly available for the response had more than doubled to 5000, although authorities could not explain where these troops were.

[Senior journalist and author Rick Morton, writing in The Saturday Paper, 19 March 2022]

Motorists trapped on Woodburn bridge cut off by floodwaters rescued.
IMAGE: ABC News, 1 March 2022

Cattle seek high ground in flood-hit Ballina, northern NSW. Farmers report ‘devastating impacts’. Photograph: Australian defence force/AFP/Getty Images, The Guardian, 2 March 2022.

The Saturday Paper, 19 March 2022:

Last week, New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet secured a “handshake agreement” with Prime Minister Scott Morrison that they would do “whatever is required” to support residents devastated by floods in the Northern Rivers region.

Over the weekend, NSW ministers and departmental officials worked to develop and test a recovery funding package. The details were finalised on Tuesday, before being signed off by the premier and passed through an out-of-session expenditure review committee.

At time of press, however, there had been no response from the federal government. Morrison’s office has gone silent.

“I’m not sure what the hold-up is,” a senior NSW government source told The Saturday Paper. “We’ve signed our package, is my point. And the prime minister’s office or the treasurer’s office has not come back to us to say ‘Hey, we have a question about this.’ ”

On Thursday morning, the source consulted another person while on the phone, to see if there had been any movement on the package.

“Still nothing. We are still waiting on the prime minister,” they said, and then, to the other person: “Do we know what the hold-up is? He’s campaigning in Perth? Is that the actual answer?” The second person clarified they had been told simply that Morrison is “unavailable”.

“Well, is he unavailable to review the package? Or unavailable to sign it off? Or unavailable to do the media announce?”

There was a pause. “Okay. So he’s not engaging on it.”

This is a story about the politicisation of a national catastrophe, and the lengths Scott Morrison will go to in order to deflect blame while manoeuvring to collect credit for doing the bare minimum….. [my yellow highlighting]

Read the full story here.

Refresh your memory about the scale of this catastrophic flooding.....

 

Posted by A Current Affair on 2 March 2022.

On 18 March 2022 both Scott Morrison & Damian Perrottet separately released details of a joint funding arrangement - some parts of which à la Morrison were re-announcements rather than new provisions along with unspecified assurances. Neither made mention of the proposed $10,000 grant to flood victims in NSW Northern Rivers region returning to their own homes or of $5,000 to renting flood victims.

BACKGROUND

News.com.au, 17 March 2022, excerpt:

News.com.au revealed on Wednesday night that residents of flood-ravaged towns in NSW would be offered $10,000 “back home” grants to rebuild their homes as thousands face months living in tents and caravans.

The grants are up to $10,000 if you own your own home and it is your principal place of residence. Renters will be eligible a $5,000 grant.

Landlords will also secure a $5,000 grant to clean up properties they rent out to tenants.

The package is also looking at further grants to primary producers of up to $25,000.

But a bitter war of words breaks over frustrations the Prime Minister is holding up the announcement, amid claims he refused to announce it on Wednesday because he was campaigning in Western Australia.

One Quote, One YouTube Video & four Tweets of the Week

“I’m still wearing the same glasses, and the same suits,” Morrison said, in reference to Albanese’s new look. “I’m happy in my own skin … When you’re prime minister you can’t pretend to be someone else.” [Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, quoted in The Guardian, March 2022]

I know what you mean...boring. Dyou like his new spectacles?
Morrison:
‘does my brain look big in these?’

😂😂😂😂 he’ll try anything.

— ✳️✳️✳️Marydoll (@heyjimmy299) December 23, 2018

"I’m still wearing the same glasses." Says Scott Morrison, who has changed them at least four times. pic.twitter.com/gckq3VFBlj

— Möbius Ecko 💉💉💉 (@MobiusEcko) March 17, 2022

#ScottyTheGreatPretender….

pic.twitter.com/eyZcJdJvDp

— Cranky Jo🇺🇦 (@JoJSharpe) March 15, 2022

. @ScottMorrisonMP says he’s not pretending to be anyone else …. And yet that seems to be his life’s work pic.twitter.com/jfYd55RM7w

— Patricia Barraclough (@PMBarraclough) March 15, 2022