The NSW Government announced the seventh land release of the $100 million Resilient Lands Program (RLP) in Grafton yesterday

Junction Hill, just north of Grafton, will deliver 1,000 homes for families in the Grafton area.

As the government announcement stated, "Junction Hill has been released alongside sites in East Lismore, Goonellabah, North Lismore, Brunswick Heads, Casino and Lennox Head-Ballina already identified. Combined, the current RLP sites will see potentially more than 4,300 homes delivered across the region."

While the announcement will be welcomed by the Grafton community, you have to wonder if this Resilient Lands Program money is being spent in the appropriate flood area.

According to the last Resilient Homes Program update, the Clarence LGA (which Grafton is in) was offered 3 House Buybacks following the 2022 floods.

The Lismore LGA has had 575 Buyback offers approved, the highest number by 414 houses, the next of which is Tweed with 161. Richmond Valley then comes in at 52, Kyogle 10, Byron 7, Ballina 6 and Clarence 3.

When you look at how the Resilient Land Program has rolled out so far, Lismore, the worst hit in the 2022 floods, doesn't fare so well.

The NRs Resilient Lands Strategy states the SCU site in East Lismore has more than 400 homes, Mt Pleasant Estate in Goonellabah 39 homes and the North Lismore site (near the new Richmond River High Campus) 85 homes, for a total of 524 homes.

In the Tweed Shire, Murwillumbah will see 250 homes built at North Arm Road.

In Byron, the Saddle Road precinct will deliver 600 homes.

The Summerland Estate near Casino in the Richmond Valley LGA will deliver up to 1,500 housing lots.

The NSWRA is working with Kyogle council to deliver 40 homes.

Then there was yesterday's Junction Hill announcement in the Clarence for 1,000 homes.

Statistically, Lismore has the least number of homes per House Buyback than all other Northern Rivers councils.

When asked why this is the case, a NSW Reconstruction Authority Spokesperson said, "We’ve established three sites in the Lismore Local Government Area for future development as part of our $100 million Resilient Lands Program.

"The program will deliver around 524 new, safe parcels of land in Lismore. This includes 400 homes at East Lismore, 39 at Goonellabah and 85 at North Lismore. It’s also important to note that RA is leading the developments in Lismore, which will come on board faster than in other areas. 

"We know flood-affected communities across the Northern Rivers region have been waiting for safer land and housing options to be identified. We also know that people want to have different options and not everyone is interested in purchasing land through the Program. 

"All up, the program will deliver 4,300 new parcels of land across the Northern Rivers. Buyback participants in any LGA can purchase land made available through the Program in any location and will be given priority.

"This program underpins our commitment to providing more flood-free housing choices for people in the Northern Rivers."

The Northern Rivers was hit by the February 28 2022 big flood, Lismore was easily the worst hit in terms of property damage. This can not be disputed. People in other LGAs will say, "It's not all about Lismore". No, it's not, but the centre of the devastation was in Lismore.

The NSWRA spokesperson says buyback participants can purchase land in any location; what if they want to stay in their home LGA? The options are clearly less.

Has the Resilient Lands Program become about solving the housing crisis in the Northern Rivers?

The NRs Resilient Lands Strategy says, "The Resilient Lands Program is part of a package of measures to provide more housing choices by accelerating the supply of land and housing for flood-impacted residents."

While there is a choice, there are more offerings in less flood-affected LGAs. This is why there are so many questions.