A lot has changed for Lismore and the Northern Rivers in the last two weeks regarding the $700 million Resilient Homes Program.

It started with the release of the flood maps, moved into the House Buyback eligibility criteria being explained and yesterday ended with CEO NSWRA (NSW Reconstruction Authority) Simon Draper confirming that the Resilient Homes Program was only going to deliver 2000 buybacks, raisings and retrofits in total for the $700 million that has been received. House Buybacks are estimated to be 1,100 homes.

As a community, we wanted clearer communication and more transparency and now that we have a clearer picture, finally, of what the flood rebuild may look like, we are not happy.

In yesterday's media briefing and Q&A, Simon Draper was asked about the 2000, in total, buybacks, raisings and retrofits. His response was, "I wasn’t around at that time but my reading of the media statements that were released by the governments at that time are pretty clear. So, there were 2000 homes across all of those remedies, buybacks, raising and retrofits. I can’t speak to what others said but when I look at the documents that were released at that time 2000 homes was across all of those treatments."

At the Lismore App, we checked our stories from the October 28, 2022 announcement by Prime Minister Albanese and then Premier Dominic Perrottet. Sure enough, they were the numbers mentioned.

So, how did our politicians, our council and the community get it so wrong? Why was there a belief that the Resilient Homes Program was working towards 2000 house buybacks, 2000 house raisings and 2000 house retrofits? The numbers came from over 6000 registrations for the program and from statements made by the NRRC.

Nov 2 2022, five days after the PM and Premier flew into town, CEO NRRC David Witherdin told the Lismore App in an interview, "When we look across the seven local government areas here in the Northern Rivers," David continues, "Our best assessment is probably 2000 homes that are eligible for that voluntary purchase that are at the very highest risk."

Best assessment of 2000 voluntary purchases or buybacks versus the reality of 1,100 displays a clear discrepancy.

It was widely known that the NRRC asked the NSW Government initially for $1.5 billion, this number was presented to cabinet. They received $700 million (plus $100 million for the Resilient Land Program) with Tranche 2 funding to be decided for the 2023/24 financial year.

$1.5 billion would fund the NRRC buybacks to the tune of $960 million as the calculations were based on an 80% take-up of 1,600 buybacks at an average cost of $600,000 per property. That would leave plenty for House Raisings and Retrofits.

David Witherdin and his team have to put together an outcome for the money that has been provided which would include a model to determine who is prioritised to receive a house buyback. As has been stated, who is at high risk to life in the event of more regular flooding events? The February 28 2022 natural disaster is being looked at as a one-off event or the likelihood of it occurring again being very low.

The Lismore App contacted three ministers (Treasurer, Regional NSW and Planning and Public Spaces) to confirm if any further funding will be allocated and when it would be received. Over the course of a week, we were passed from one minister to the next before receiving a phone call from the NRRC saying they have been asked by the state government to answer our questions.

When we asked Simon Draper about Tranche 2 Funding, he stated, "That part of the question really is something for government."

It is worth reminding our readers that the NRRC reports to the NSW Government. They did when the elected body was the Liberal/National party and they do now that it is a Labor State Government. The NSWRA also reports to the State Government.

Our local politicians (four State Members) and all seven NRs Mayors signed a letter addressed to the Premier about receiving Tranche 2 funding as soon as possible.

Of course, not everyone will take up the House Buybacks so that money can be recycled or redistributed within the program. But many homeowners are waiting on more definitive information as to where they might live through the Resilient Land Program. They still have no information on how much a block of land or a townhouse or an apartment will be in one of the six identified sites in Lismore and when they will be available.

One aspect we haven't touched on in this scenario is insurance and its affordability for those that will not be offered a buyback. Insurance companies do look at the February 28 2022 flood height.

For those flooded for the very first time, their premiums have risen a great deal, for those on the flood plain it is just not affordable if it is offered at all. The obvious solution is flood mitigation which is based on the CSIRO report due to be completed at the end of 2024 before being reviewed for 12 to 18 months so the end of 2025 mid-way through 2026. That is before any flood mitigation work can even begin.

Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin had this to say about the latest Resilient Homes Program updates.

"It has been incredibly hard getting consistent information out of the NRRC and the latest media briefing appears to continue this trend."

"The problem of NSW not having disaster readiness like our QLD counterparts and accompanying machinery of government is that all of these programs have been – and are being – designed on the run. When disaster hit we quickly realised there was little in place to rescue, recover or rebuild. That is what is trying to be sorted out now, after years of nothingness."

"Disaster planning has to be for ‘what if,’ not ‘what was’ and we did not have even ‘what was’ readiness when we were smashed on February 28^th and March 20^th 2022."

"It is a fact that our communities were directly led to believe by the NRRC that there would be 2000 buybacks, 2000 house raisings and 2000 retrofits."

Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan told the Lismore App, "We were also told that Tranche 2 funding would come if needed to complete the Resilient Homes Fund."

"We were always led to believe there was, through different briefings, there was always going to be over 2000 homes eligible for house buybacks. This has now been cut to 1,100 because the Federal and State Labor Governments are not going to top it up."

"This means we move half a street or neighbourhood which achieves nothing, which means that flood mitigation has to be the main game in town for us to feel safe when they hand down their recommendations on flood mitigation."

"This is traumatising for people waiting to make family decisions about their home."

The Lismore App understands that there is to be a protest outside the new NRRC pop-up office in Carrington Street on Friday at 4pm. Could this be the first of many in the coming weeks and months as the community differentiates between perceived promises and delivered reality?

Mr Draper did say "There may be further opportunities for homeowners" so the door is not closed and the government's mind has not been determined.

"Anyone who has been told they are not in this round of prioritisation for a buyback, it’s open to them to seek a review of that and have an appeal process," Mr Draper said.

If you or you know of someone who would like to appeal the decision, click here.