Advertisement

NSW flood report urges urgent relocation of high risk residents

Buy-back option for residents of flood zones

An independent report into NSW’s devastating floods has urged that people living in the “highest-risk” areas around Lismore should be “urgently” relocated.

The findings of the NSW flood inquiry were made public on Tuesday, with Premier Dominic Perrottet announcing he had accepted all 28 recommendations.

A new reconstruction authority will open expressions of interest for a buy back and land swap scheme for chronic flood areas by the end of August.

“I know that for many people that will provide uncertainty today in terms of eligibility, but that is something that we need to work through,” Mr Perrottet said.

Prepared by former chief scientist Mary O’Kane and former NSW Police commissioner Mick Fuller, the report also called for the formation of a new disaster prevention authority, rescue training for residents in flood-prone areas and a back-office merger of emergency services.

Mr Perrottet had tasked the pair with investigating recovery and reconstruction efforts after the floods in the Northern Rivers and Hawkesbury-Nepean, which killed 13 across the state.

He said there had been progress in the six months since the devastating floods but more work was still needed.

“The power of nature to swamp the beautiful northern rivers was devastating, and that will be matched by our commitment and dedication to rebuild and retrain our communities for the future,” he said on Wednesday in Lismore.

“This is a long journey in front of us, and we need to make sure we rebuild in a resilient way, in a way that keeps the character and the charm of these wonderful communities.”

The reconstruction authority will be NSW’s lead agency for disaster prevention and will look for long-term flood mitigation solutions.

It will also collect and distribute reconstruction funding from governments and charities to ensure it is done evenly and efficiently.

Resilience NSW will be reconfigured following criticism of the agency in the wake of the floods.

“We’ll be reshaping Resilience NSW and transforming it into a leaner, nimble agency known as Recovery NSW that will focus on the first 100 days post event,” Mr Perrottet said.

A partial merger of the State Emergency Service and the much bigger Rural Fire Service is also one of the 335-page report’s 28 recommendations.

The merger would leverage the size of the RFS and put it in charge of administration and planning.

Residents in flood-prone areas would be trained to conduct rescues using private boats, as many already did during the February floods.

Mr Perrottet said many people did not have the time to commit to becoming an SES or RFS volunteer.

“But there are many people who want to have that training,” he said.

A new deputy police commissioner will head up a state emergency operations centre to lead disaster response.

A permanent cabinet committee will be created involving senior ministers and public servants ready to respond to major natural disasters.

Another key proposal is the controversial proposal to raise the Warragamba Dam wall in Sydney’s west.

A 28-page case study expected to be included in the next volume of the report said raising the wall would give people more time to evacuate.

The long-held and polarising plan to raise the wall could delay key infrastructure flooding by 11 hours, including a vital evacuation route on the Windsor bridge, the report said.

Raising the dam wall was also canvassed during a parliamentary committee inquiry and report into the flood response earlier this month.

The committee heard arguments for and against raising the wall but did not make a recommendation.

The committee also noted Resilience NSW “demonstrated some of the biggest failures of the NSW government’s response to the floods”.

– AAP

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.