Following Premier Chris Minns' hard line yesterday on the demolition of houses in Pine Street that will see the removal of illegal squatters, the NSW Reconstruction Authority (NSWRA) has begun making plans to make that happen.

A spokesperson for the NSWRA said, "The NSW Reconstruction Authority is working with Police to resolve the issue of occupants illegally living in homes devastated by the catastrophic 2022 floods. 

"Illegal occupancy obstructs our efforts to repurpose, relocate or demolish these properties, delaying the community’s recovery and safety.

"These homes were bought back by the Government because they pose a serious and ongoing risk to human life. The most recent operational planning for ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred demonstrated the vulnerability of the bought-back homes and the significant burden placed on the NSW SES who undertook doorknocking as part of evacuation orders.

"Pine Street, where illegal occupants have been staying, was impacted by the cyclone with the street flooded and occupants subject to an evacuation order by the SES. 

"It is untenable for them to return and illegally occupy these homes again.

"The RA is working to engage contractors to undertake emergency demolitions as quickly as possible following ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. The demolitions will be focused on the highest flood and safety risk areas in the first instance."

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully was in Lismore and the Northern Rivers today touring affected communities including Woodburn and Broadwater to discuss what each needs for its recovery.

When asked about the illegal Pine Street squatters, Minister Scully said, "We've got people who are illegally occupying homes that we bought back because these are dangerous locations, right? This is not a sport. This is not a game. This is not free accommodation provided by the New South Wales Government. These sites were identified because it's dangerous to live in.

"What we've seen over the last week is just how quickly that danger can re-emerge, and we're not about to replace one problem with another. When it comes to this, people are occupying those houses illegally. They have been provided offers of assistance on multiple occasions where they might be eligible.

"The government remains ready to provide assistance to those who need it, but where there are people who are taking advantage of the fact that other people have had to leave their house and had a buyback because of the danger that area poses, we're not going to tolerate the illegal occupation of places. That's not what the program is about. The program was about making people safe, not to be taken advantage of with the illegal occupation.

(Pine Street during the flood peak on Saturday)

Minister Scully was asked if the government is planning to make arrests if needed to get the job done?

"Look, we have been in constant conversation with police about this situation the whole way through. Mr. Lanyon may be able to add some more details, given his background and has been dealing with more directly. Our bottom line is we don't want buy back homes illegally occupied. That's as simple as that. These homes were bought back and identified for buyback because they are in a dangerous location. Now that doesn't mean that it's safe for some other group to go in there and occupy illegally. We will continue to work with police. We will continue to work with it and work on the situation there, but those who are occupying those properties illegally, should leave.

Mal Lanyon, the CEO of NSWRA, said that the legal process of removing the illegal squatters is still progressing.

"It's still very much afoot. The actions for a writ of possession are with the Supreme Court at the moment. At this stage, they've not been withdrawn. Our preference, obviously, would be to negotiate a withdrawal of the illegal occupants peacefully from the premises down there. We'll continue to work with the police and the sheriffs with a view to making that happen."

Minister Scully also got tough when answering a question on house relocations through the Resilient Homes Program.

"People said, wherever possible, we'd like to either salvage some of the material that's there if the homes are too far damaged to be occupied ever again, or to move it where it's possible. We've had a number of home moves that have happened. I was up here a couple of weeks ago. There were four up the road from here that I was able to go and see. We've had an expression of interest process where people have been able to identify homes that they may be interested in moving and we will continue to wherever possible, make homes that have been bought back and can be relocated and can still be habitable, available to people to buy and relocate as far as possible.

"But you can't do that when people are illegally occupying them. That's the bottom line. You know, this is not a rental inspection game. You can't just say knock on the door one day and say, Hey, illegal occupants. Do you mind if we come in and have a look to see if we might want to buy this? No, we need to be able to have clear things so we can assess them from an engineering point of view, and then people can consider them from whether or not they are in a position to be able to relocate them to another area. We would prefer to see relocations wherever possible."

While speaking at the launch of a National Blood Drive in Lismore today, Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan was asked about his thoughts on the illegal Pine Street squatters.

"Well, I'm glad that the Premier's here, and realises the situation. We know, we've been aware of this for 12 months at least. I have a lot of people from north and south Lismore who come to me and talk to me about that, and they have health and safety concerns. There was a man murdered when he went into a home he owned about twelve months ago that you may remember.

"I'm glad they're acting. What they're doing is illegal. None of them are flood victims. None of them are locals. They're predominantly people from overseas, and they're taking advantage of a situation that, I think, is unfair and very disappointing that some people in the community are supporting that.

"There are allegedly people in this community giving free legal advice, legal people giving free legal advice to the squatters, on how to get around this, or to delay this, or to make it expensive for the government to get rid of them, that's outrageous. So they're getting free legal advice about what to do, what to say, what not to do, so that they don't have to move. And that's delaying it because there's appeals now going through the court system that the taxpayer has to fund.

The Lismore App visited Pine Street late this morning asking for an interview. Rio identified himself as a media liaison person, who attempted to contact a spokesperson. No one came forward. Our contact details were left to organise a chat this afternoon. At the time of writing, the Lismore App has not heard from anyone living on Pine Street.

As the removal or now demolition process continues, it will no doubt come to a head in the coming weeks.