Today, Sunday, 24 November 2024, marks 1000 days since the 28 February 2022 flood that decimated Lismore and the Northern Rivers.

The Lismore App wanted to look at what has been achieved during those 1000 days since the most costly disaster in Australia's history tore through homes and businesses, ripping into the heart of communities and testing their resolve.

There would be many in the community who would be quick to say "nothing" has been achieved. However, that would not be true. Could elements of our flood recovery have been delivered faster? Sure. Is there a long way to go in the recovery? Absolutely.

The Northern Rivers flood recovery has been far from perfect. Anyone who has been part of the project, all levels of government included, would agree that from the outset, flood rescue, recovery, and the soon-to-be rebuild could have been more effective for the residents of Lismore and the Northern Rivers.

The Lismore App asked Lismore City Council, the NSW Reconstruction Authority, Member for Lismore and Parliamentary Secretary of Disaster Recovery Janelle Saffin and Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan for their thoughts on what has been achieved in 1000 days.

LISMORE CITY COUNCIL - Brendan Logan Chief Operating Officer

When you talk about achievements in our asset rebuild, the achievements are many and varied.

If you focus on outcomes rather than statistics, I think the biggest achievements are those that everyone told us we wouldn't get done.

I was told internally and externally that I'll never get to recruit and lead a restoration team, let alone get the State to fund it, but guess what? We have, and the calibre of people we have recruited is exceptional.

I was told in no uncertain terms that we would never get a Managing Contractor model up and running to do our landslip repairs (Nimbin Road as an example), but guess what? We have done that too.

(Nimbin Road just before you enter the township)

Those achievements give great satisfaction - we had genuine belief that we knew what was best for our city, and we took no prisoners at times to make sure it happened.

The statistics also back up the view that we are achieving.

Despite the majority of funding only being locked in earlier this year, we have around 80 out of 350 projects in the close-out phase, as in all but finished and ready to hand back to the BAU asset teams in Council.

To do that, we have spent upwards of $200 million of what is likely to be a 10-figure overall cost. 

As for 2025, we are out to market for the landslips Managing Contractor, and we are on track to award that in the first half of 2025. The team are working overtime to get that to happen. 

We will also see commencement of the rebuild of the east Lismore sewerage treatment plant, which is essential to support the Crawford Road housing development that the State has announced. 

There will also be a range of flood resilience projects under the leadership of Garon Clough that will get plenty of momentum in the first half of 2025.

NSW RECONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY - Spokesperson

The floods in 2022 in the Northern Rivers was Australia’s worst ever flood disaster and one of the costliest we’ve seen. In response, we are now undertaking Australia’s largest disaster adaptation program across the Northern Rivers region and rolling out one of the state’s biggest recovery programs in response to a flood. 

This is not a simple rebuilding exercise – we’re making significant long-term changes to where people live, how we plan for climate change and how we mitigate future disasters. This kind of work takes time. We know from other disasters here and overseas that communities can still be rebuilding 10 years on.

Our two key programs in the Northern Rivers are the State and Commonwealth funded $790 million Resilient Homes Program (RHP), and the State funded $100 million Resilient Lands Program (RLP).

The Resilient Homes Program involves the buyback of about 1,100 homes and funding to support the raise or retrofit of about 370 homes.

As at 22 November, 834 buyback offers had been approved, 725 buyback offers accepted, and 23 resilience grants for raise and retrofit works offers approved.

We’ve also delivered key policy measures under the RHP, including a relocation and gifting policy for homes that have been bought back, a recycling and reuse pilot and a Living Memory project.

We’ve significantly progressed the Resilient Lands Program with various stages of work on seven sites to provide people with more options for flood safe housing. Sites have been identified in East Lismore, North Lismore, Goonellabah, Brunswick Heads, Ballina-Lennox Head, Casino and the Clarence Valley.

The Resilient Lands Program will deliver up to 4,300 new parcels of land across the Northern Rivers, with buyback participants given priority.

This week, we moved the first of four buyback homes to the Mount Pleasant Resilient Lands Program site in Goonellabah.

(The first relocated house at the Mt Pleasant Estate)

RA is also overseeing a multi-billion pipeline of infrastructure projects with other NSW Government agencies.

This work includes disaster recovery and reconstruction projects, as well as business-as-usual (BAU) work, such as pre-planned or existing works.

There are over 1,300 disaster recovery and reconstruction projects underway by a range of agencies and councils across the region worth around $2.8 billion. Also underway is a pipeline of business-as-usual projects worth billions more.

There are 36 projects funded under the Commonwealth-funded $150 million Northern Rivers Reconstruction and Resilience Program (NRRRP) to reduce flood risks and build flood awareness in the community. Four new bridges, upgraded pumps, enhanced evacuation routes and riparian revegetation projects are just a few of the 36 NRRRP projects.

In addition, more than $8.8 million has been delivered across a variety of grant programs and projects to support community recovery and reconstruction. This includes things like the $1 million Community Resilience Grants program in partnership with the Northern Rivers Community Foundation and $5 million for Resilient Lismore’s “Two Rooms” Repair to Return project.

We’ve fast-tracked millions of dollars in funding to make sure councils in the region could repair roads and transport infrastructure damaged during natural disasters. This was the result of a new funding agreement between the 7 Northern Rivers councils, the NSW Reconstruction Authority and Transport for NSW. These Tripartite Agreements mean less financial pressure on councils, faster repairs for communities after natural disasters and better collaboration between state and local government agencies.

We’re also supporting people impacted by the 2022 floods with 11 temporary housing villages and supporting thousands of families through our Recovery Support Services. We will continue to work with Homes NSW and other key partners to support residents currently living in temporary housing villages to find permanent long-term housing.

And, through our Disaster Relief Grants, we've paid over $11 million to almost 1500 people so they can replace essential household goods and $17.5 million to 264 people for home repairs or rebuilds. 

We also started work on a Northern Rivers Disaster Adaptation Plan to reduce the risk and impact of future floods in the region.

CSIRO

Senior Principal Research Scientist Jai Vaze and his team have delivered their scheduled reports on time to date. There have been no delays to this $11.4 million Northern Rivers Resilience Initiative project.

Phase 1 included the release of the first Interim Report, which was initially called the Rapid Prioritisation for Flood Resilience in the Northern Rivers. It was released on 23 February 2023 and involved council-identified projects. Lismore was allocated the majority of the $50 million for eleven (11) projects.

LISMORE

1. Flood risk management infrastructure - upgrades and maintenance of existing flood management infrastructure - 14 proposals
2. Extra pump at Lower Hollingsworth pump station.
3. Increase capacity in Browns Creek pump station.
4. Power supply backups for all pump stations.
5. Raise pump control rooms/towers in all pump stations.
6. Refurbish Browns Creek flood gate.
7. Refurbish Upper Hollingsworth Creek flood gate.
8. New electric submersible pump station (x2) at levee near Snow Street and Thre Chain Road.
9. Install an electric pump station to replace the tractor driven pump at the rowing club to remove CBD stormwater. Will improve evacuation from the CBD and providing better access to critical infrastructure and emergency services.
10. Improved communications to critical infrastructure with capacity to install CCTV and advanced it solutions.
11. Trash racks will reduce the risk of rubbish and debris being washed/sucked into pump intakes and causing damage to pumps.

Phase 2 was the very important collection of high-quality data sets using LiDar and Bathymetry, which were used to build a three-dimensional digital surface map of the Northern Rivers region, covering more than 30,000 km². It was released to the public on June 28 2024.

Jai is now preparing the Model Calibration Report. This critical component will be able to reproduce the 2022 flood accurately through detailed modelling. This is due for release on 28 June 2025.

Once complete, flood mitigation scenarios can be run through the model. This will tell the community what, if any, scenario can lower the impact of another flood like 2022 and by how much.

Jai is looking to test only 2-3 scenarios; however, each scenario will have 3-5 components.

This will be delivered by 30 June 2026.

Member for Lismore and Parliamentary Secretary for Disaster Recovery JANELLE SAFFIN

At the time of writing, the Lismore App had not received Ms Saffin's response.

Federal Member for Page KEVIN HOGAN

Our region still does not have a clear future. There is great confusion, disappointment, and sadness within the community. Three years on, we are no safer and no more protected should another disaster hit.

Flood mitigation is the only strategy that will give the region a sustainable future and safety. The CSIRO report is crucial to this. If the community knows a metre or more will be taken off future flood events, they will invest and live in confidence in the Northern Rivers. 

We also need a vision document focussing on economic recovery, economic development, regional workforce, housing, water security, and residential and industrial land development.

The Government on all levels must act. Mistakes have been made, and significant amounts of public funds have been spent with marginal returns. This can be rectified with a commitment to flood mitigation and a vision strategy for the region.

Businesses, families and individuals have reinvested to reopen and get themselves back. They deserve certainty for their future.

SUMMARY

The pace of the 2022 flood recovery has been much slower than people would like. The blame lies squarely with government bureaucracy. For whatever reason, the wheels just turn slowly, and no amount of yelling, screaming or media coverage increases that pace.

Before February 28 2022, there was no disaster recovery body.

In Queensland, it took severe flooding in January 2011, with 75% of the state impacted and a death toll of 33, and severe tropical cyclone Yatsi in February that same year, near Townsville, to establish the Queensland Reconstruction Authority.

It took the 14.4 metre Northern Rivers flood to first establish the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation, which led to the establishment of the NSW Reconstruction Authority (NSWRA) in December 2022. At the same time, severe flooding destroyed businesses and homes in the central West.

Establishing the NSWRA will help any future disaster rescue and recovery a lot quicker than we experienced in 2022. This is a big achievement in itself.

As the NSWRA stated above, moving 725 high-risk homes off the floodplain is another achievement. That means less impact when the next major flood hits Lismore and the Northern Rivers. The downside is some people are still receiving buyback offers 1000 days after the big flood. They have experienced so much uncertainty during that time.

The Resilient Lands Program (RLP) will deliver 4,300 new parcels of land, as stated by the NSWRA above. The hardest-hit town was Lismore in 2022; yet only 524 new housing sites have been announced through the RLP. This has been adjusted since the Mt Pleasant Estate in Goonellabah was reduced from 50 to 39 housing sites. This can only be described as disappointing, with Lismore having about 500 buyback offers accepted, the most of any LGA by 360. Hopefully, more will be announced in 2025.

Housing has been another disappointment in 1000 days. No construction has begun on any RLP site, although two homes from East Lismore have been relocated to Mt Pleasant, with another two to be moved in early December.

Lismore City Council appears to have made inroads into its restoration projects with 80 assets completed, including the Memorial baths and the Regional Gallery and some major landslip works finished around Nimbin. 2025 will be significant as the sewage treatment plant rebuild gets underway and plans for the future of the waste and recycling facility are finalised.

It has to be said the Northern Rivers Reconstruction and Resilience Program (NRRRP) has been a massive disappointment. The eleven (11) projects should have been ordered and completed by now. They were announced by Senator Murray Watt in February 2023.

Flood Mitigation is a key element to Lismore's confidence internally and externally. Externally in terms of investment into our city. The next 1000 days will see the results of flood modelling scenarios, which will determine what the best mitigation options will be. Of course, they then need to be costed and funded by the federal and state government.

2025 is shaping to be the year of construction, or at least that is the plan. My fingers are crossed that we start to see the future of Lismore start to take shape on a more substantial scale next year.

By the end of the next 1000 days, there should be plenty of reasons to feel confident about Lismore as a city that will once again be the centre of the Northern Rivers.