Simon Mumford
13 November 2022, 7:03 PM
Lismore City Councillor Big Rob is proposing an 'urgency motion' for Tuesday night's additional council meeting.
LCC meetings must now be finished by 10:30pm (with a 6pm start) or an extension can be voted on to 11pm if the order of business can be completed. Last week's meeting had 90 minutes worth of public speakers then a long Hepburn Park debate where every councillor spoke for close to their allotted time so the agenda items were never going to be completed, hence the rollover to this Tuesday night.
Councillor (Cr) Rob's motion is about Lismore's housing options, not only for emergency accommodation but also identifying Lismore's long-term housing needs. It is outlined below:
A 'motion to consider' needs a seconder, if that is achieved it is then voted on so needs a majority vote for Mayor Steve Krieg to consider the motion urgent. If that is given the thumbs up, the motion can be debated and voted on.
Last Tuesday's Hepburn Park rescission motion put forward by Crs Bird, Ekins and Cook sought to use 25% of Hepburn Park for emergency accommodation of about 50 pods that help over 100 people into temporary housing for two years while more suitable medium-term options are identified and finalised.
The vote was 6 against with 5 for the rescission motion.
Those against put the blame squarely on Resilience NSW and the lack of options that have been put in front of this council as they didn't believe Hepburn Park, in any form, was an option to use for emergency housing.
Cr Rob wants to expedite this progress, or lack of progress in the eight and a half months since the natural disaster displaced thousands of residents, many of whom are still displaced and living outside of their 2480 postcode or in caravans or unsuitable living conditions.
Those that voted for the motion will argue that the perfect opportunity presented itself last week and you voted against the motion.
When asked for further comment, Cr Rob said, "Fake news, no comment."
As a community, we need to see our councillors working hard to find a solution to help those that need it. This needs to happen now and not get lost in politics and the blame game.
Our community expects councillors to lead especially after the worst natural disaster Australia has seen and with Christmas and the New Year only weeks away time is of the essence.
SERVICES