Residents of Lismore and the Northern Rivers felt that the government's response to the February 28 2022 big flood felt like it was orchestrated on the run, there was no documented emergency plan for a disaster of that scale.

Yesterday those thoughts were confirmed by the Audit Office of NSW when it released its Flood Housing Response.

One of the key findings said, "There was no plan in place to guide the temporary housing response at the time of the floods."

"The State-level emergency planning documents do not contemplate the need for temporary housing as a government disaster response. Although there was a temporary emergency housing response to the Black Summer bushfires in 2019-20, no specific plans were in place to guide this response or the flood events in 2021-22."

"The Government there had to develop its approach to addressing demand for temporary housing whilst responding to the flood emergency as it was occurring."

We know 13 lives were lost in the Northern Rivers (NRs) floods. 4,055 properties were deemed uninhabitable, and a further 10,849 properties were assessed as damaged. Approximately 4,000 people had to be evacuated from Lismore alone during this period, with thousands displaced from their homes across the region.

(Vice Chancellor SCU Tyrone Carlin at the emergency accommodation centre at the uni)

People in need of emergency accommodation peaked at over 1,400 and was reduced to 400 by the end of the second flood at the end of March. 70% of people needing emergency accommodation were renters. All local motels were used, mobile motorhomes were utilised as were hotels and motels well outside of the NRs, some as far as Brisbane.

When looking at temporary housing villages, 11 sites out of 14 shortlisted sites, were used. The report said the NSW Government built 546 temporary dwellings in the NRs, which includes pods and caravans, but this did not meet the forecast demand for temporary housing and there is still a waitlist.

By November 2022 the number of households needing temporary housing exceeded 1,100 and as of July 2023 1,021 people were in the temporary housing villages and 257 caravans were on people's properties.

As of 27 November 2023, 724 households remained on the waitlist for temporary housing. The report did say the NSWRA had not reviewed the list to confirm its accuracy. Some of these temporary villages are in Brunswick Heads and Kingscliff.

In terms of how many have left temporary housing, 75 had exited by 10 July 2023. 30 had moved into longer-term accommodation or moved out of the area with the remaining 45 for unknown reasons.

(the East Lismore Pod Village May 2023)

The report says the NSW Government does not have a strategy for meeting the outstanding demand for temporary housing.

The lessons learned from the NR February 2022 flood did help those involved in the November 2022 in the Central West where the demand for temporary housing was met. The numbers were significantly lower than the NRs.

Those lessons have not been documented as yet.

As for Audit Office recommendations?

They are that by August 2024, the NSW Reconstruction Authority should:

• develop a whole of government plan for temporary housing to coordinate future temporary housing responses to emergency events
• review the temporary housing waitlist to determine the current extent of unmet need
• determine a timeline for demobilising the temporary housing villages and transitioning tenants out of temporary housing
• develop a strategy to manage the transition of people into long-term accommodation, taking into account recommendations from relevant reviews
• develop a process for a state-wide recovery lessons learned process and facilitate this being completed each year in coordination with the State Recovery Committee.

By December 2024, all audited agencies should:

• finalise evaluations of their role in the provision of emergency accommodation and temporary housing for the Northern Rivers and Central West flood events, and incorporate lessons learned into future planning and continuous improvement. These evaluations should be undertaken in conjunction with other agencies where appropriate.
• develop internal plans for implementing whole-of-government responsibilities under the Welfare Functional Area Supporting Plan and any plan developed as a result of recommendation one. This may include, as appropriate, the agency's:
• role in whole-of-government governance arrangements, including key interactions with other agencies
• procurement process, including analysis of appropriate options
• process for identifying appropriate sites for temporary housing
• relevant communication activities, including engagement with Aboriginal communities. 

That is five (5) months to complete a document that outlines strategies and processes to deal with the next natural disaster.

Forgive me for my cynicism but we are two years down with the first Resilient Lands Program site announced for 400 houses that won't be ready until 2026. This is the same for the 64 affordable units in Goonellabah and East Lismore, it will be 2026, at the earliest, to house any residents.

The jury is out.