The Parliamentary Flood Report that was released yesterday said that our two lead agencies, NSW SES (emergency response) and Resilience NSW (recovery) failed in their attempts "to provide leadership and effective coordination in the community's greatest time of need".

The Floor Report Select Committee on the Response to Major Flooding across New South Wales in 2022, was made up of all political parties and included local Green Sue Higginson MLC.

The Committee Chair Labor's Walt Secord MLC also criticised the State Government’s failure to implement a streamlined grants process that meant that "applicants were repeatedly interviewed, and had to re-live their experiences, leading to further frustration and trauma as part of the support process".

Mr Secord said in his foreword:

"With respect to the NSW SES, it is clear that the centralisation of this organisation, and a shortage of volunteers, significantly hindered the ability of the agency to lead the emergency response."

"In many cases, flood warnings and evacuation information were out of date, inaccurate and confusing."

"Further still, many community members felt that they had no choice but to conduct their own rescues in dangerous conditions as many calls for assistance to 000 and the NSW SES went unanswered."

"Put simply, the community was forced to save themselves; neighbour saving neighbour. While this is an admirable testament to these communities, it is both unreasonable and undesirable as a matter of public policy."

"For these reasons, the NSW Government should consider restructuring the SES to ensure that it better harnesses local knowledge and networks, coordinates more closely with other rescue agencies, and increases resources, including by driving volunteer recruitment."

"Resilience NSW demonstrated some of the biggest failures of the NSW Government's response to the floods. Witnesses repeatedly expressed frustration and were confused about the role of Resilience NSW, particularly in the recovery phase following the floods."

"The committee found that the NSW Government failed to comprehend the scale of the floods and treated the disaster response as a “nine to five” business operation – when it was one of the greatest natural disasters in generations."

"The agency failed to engage or coordinate with community groups leading flood recovery efforts in their communities. This was despite Resilience NSW having been established almost two years ago." 

"Accordingly, the NSW Government must consider the viability of Resilience NSW unless it can ensure that the agency's role is clear after reviewing policies, objectives, and funding; and that the organisation and its policies are apt to actually meet community disaster response needs."

Mr Secord recommended that the NSW Government abolish Resilience NSW, something reiterated by Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin.

"I have recommended that Resilience NSW be abolished, for its systemic failure to serve our communities and then to not learn any lessons as they go. Look at the current debacle with the rollout of the housing pods, and the like. Zero consultation with the community and it seems councils in full."

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) was also criticised for not being prepared for the February 28 flood nor did they comprehend the scale of the disaster. The committee also said the information provided by NSW SES and the BOM was "incorrect and out of date".

Evacuation centres, animal welfare, First Nation engagement and better management of drainage channels on top of the above points were all criticised by the committee.

The report urged the NSW Government to work with greater urgency to secure temporary housing options, as discussed at last night's council meeting for Hepburn Park.

It also called on the government to finalise long-term housing options like relocations, land swaps and buybacks that provide fair compensation for landowners who wish to relocate from severely flood-impacted areas.

The committee did note that the appointment of NSW Police Force Deputy Commissioner, Mal Lanyon, to the role of NSW Recovery Coordinator significantly improved recovery efforts. They strongly recommended a senior police officer with 'combat' experience should lead recovery efforts in future natural disasters.

The report was damning for the NSW State Government and one you can only hope that future governments learn from.

If this was a child's report card, a D would be the grade given and could be for participation.

Now, we await the Northern Rivers Flood Inquiry Report to be released by the Premier.

A NSW Government spokesperson said, "The Premier received the final Flood Inquiry Report on July 31 and is currently reviewing it. The report includes recommendations that will have impacts for communities, volunteers and first responders. The government will release the report and its response in the near future."

By way of background, the NSW Government received the Bushfire Inquiry on 31 July 2020. The report and Government response were released together four weeks later. Since then, implementation of the recommendations has been reported on quarterly with funding secured annually through the Budget. By those dates, we could be waiting until 28 August especially after a damning parliamentary report.