Yesterday's protest against the way the NRRC and its handling of the Resilient Homes Program was well attended in Carrington Street.

A crowd of about 80 people gathered at the front door of the NRRCs pop-up office in Carrington Street, the office that Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin called home for 12 months.

No one was in the office where Miriam or "Mim" Torzillo hosted the protest as flood-affected locals shared their stories and expressed their disappointment and in some cases, disgust, at how the program has been handled, especially the last two weeks when the majority of people discovered whether they are eligible for a house buyback, raising, retrofit or nothing.

(Mim Torzillo hosted the protest outside of the NRRC pop-up offices in Carrington Street)

With Tranche 2 funding still pending, many have been left with little hope from the phone calls they have received this week or are feeling survivor guilt if they have received positive news about a house buyback.

Mim told the gathering that "Following the flood, we were in despair and our future was gone. But despite that, because we had saved ourselves and each other, we had hope. We had hope because at that time, we believed that maybe we might be involved in our own recovery."

That hope was spoken about by a South Lismore resident that started repairing his house straight away because he didn't have insurance. "At the other end of the spectrum, you've got people who have been just hoping, hoping. Living under their houses and caravans and that thinking, well, with a bit of luck they'll buy me out and I can move on. They've been crushed, end of story. And unfortunately, it is at this time when people have really had their hope taken away from them that people can think about self-harm. Please don't. Seek help."

One of the key messages from the group throughout the many speakers was about looking out for each other and being kind to each other because this vulnerable group of people realise how difficult life has been in the last sixteen months and how some have been clinging on to the hope of being able to restart their lives.

"One thing that's come out of this is that I've managed to meet a lot of really nice people that have been through all this. I'm really happy to be here with the community and I urge all of us all to stick together and fight for what's right," was one comment.

An East Lismore resident reiterated what many of us have experienced when talking to loved ones and friends outside of the Northern Rivers and that is that life is back to normal. "I'm saying no, you walk down the street and you see empty house after empty house after empty house. No doors, overgrown yards. We're not alright. We're still here and we're still fighting but we're not alright."

Another speaker said he feels misled by the NRRC. "That's what really saddens me is people were misled and they changed their position on the basis of what they were told and now they're worse off and that's what's most unforgivable."

Speakers told about how the promises made caused people to live in substandard conditions which they have endured for the last 12 months waiting for the Resilient Homes Program to bail them out. "Now they're absolutely gutted. It's the lack of honesty, it's the lack of transparency and it's the fact that they misled people and people are worse off because of it and they're responsible."

One person told the crowd they had received two calls this week that informed him that he is not eligible for a buyback, raising or retrofit after being rescued from his South Lismore property. "It's just bloody disgusting" while another said, "You can't just renege and take the money and run".

Dr Ken Gudmundsen, who lost his business, composed a song about broken promises. Here's an extract:

Promise you, I promise you

Something's gonna happen real soon

I promise you, I promise you

We're doing all that we can

We won't let you down

We just gotta wait another month or two

Maddison from North Lismore said she was suffering from survivor's guilt because she got an offer from the NRRC.

Maddison is visually impaired and cares for her 22-year-old disabled son. She built a unit on the ground floor of her home for this purpose. "The corporation has given me the crappiest offer you could simply think of but it's better than what a lot of you are facing today. So, that's why I have the guilt."

Maddison is going through the appeal process but is not getting a straight answer. "I imagine that many of you that are standing in front of me today won't get a straight answer when you ask why. You're not in one of the streams and it's shitty, it's bad news. You shouldn't be told one thing and then taken away from you weeks later. We can't trust any more that the process or the government will protect us or look after us. The only people we can trust I think is each other."

Jo from South Lismore also experienced survivor guilt when she too was told she had a house buyback. "However, this morning they have changed their minds. Not entirely. They said I've been reclassified down to a Category B and that I may or may not be eligible for a buyback when the second tranche of money comes through. They won't put it in writing."

Antoinette rented in South Lismore and has hence found a house to rent in the housing crisis. Due to the House Buyback, Antoinette and her children will now be evicted. "The NRRC should have asked who was living in the house that they are going to be reclaiming and where we are going to go?"

Antoinette was also concerned about the mental health of our community. She was rescued off her roof with her children, concerned for her neighbours who couldn't or wouldn't get out of their houses believing her neighbours were dying around her.

"That concern hasn't gone away. It's increased. I think that the consequence of this fungal is preventable mental health and that we're still devastated and concerned for the lives of our neighbours which is shocking because it's a preventable mental health crisis is what exists now and in the homes around us and that's not acceptable."

"We have power, people power," Henry said as Mim encouraged the crowd to appeal their decisions, get on Facebook, find out what's going on, connect with the people in your street who have had the phone calls and compare notes. "Let's put it out there, publish the whole lot, publish your submission, tell us what you have heard so we can get to the truth of it."

(People power in Carrington Street)

Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin was at the protest standing in the background listening to what was being said.

Ms Saffin had been in Sydney with the other local members from the Northern Rivers and six of the seven mayors to talk to the Premier and his team and state our case for desperately needed Tranche 2 funding.

"Everybody left that meeting feeling really hopeful, informed, you know, really good hope. And the Premier acknowledged that what's happening up here is not working for the Northern Rivers communities. He acknowledged that, he got it, he understood. He understood about Tranche 2. If you look at some media at the time, it was 2000 only all up and then you look at the NRC, and it's 6000 and we went with the 6000 because that's what we were told."

"Tranche two is the key and we were told we'd get Tranche 2, that was clear. I was told that by the former Premier, that was clear."

When Premier Chris Minns was in Lismore, he said he would honour the promises of the previous government.

"He did and he acknowledges that but there was confusion on who said what where on this 6000 or 2000. I said I'm going to Sydney to fight for the 6000 because our community was led to believe that. All of us were at one on that, the mayors and the MPs."

"I said it's not a case of if, it's a case of must and despite all the budgetary constraints and everything, he said, just give me a little bit of time. He said, we've now got to do a reset on all of this, how everything works."

The time frame the Premier is asking for is a couple of weeks which is a tough pill for our community to swallow after 16 tough months but when Tranche 2 is, hopefully, announced the wait will be worth it.

"There would be more people eligible, of course," Ms Saffin said, "For buybacks, house raisings and retrofits. If there's more money, there's more people eligible."

"Don't lose hope," Ms Saffin said.

We can hope that Federal Government and the State Government can come to an agreement and make an announcement in that time frame.