Flood survivors who have been working to rebuild their lives say they have been left frustrated and exhausted by flaws in the New South Wales government's recovery program as they try to escape the flood plain.
Key points:
- Residents in flood-affected areas are looking to relocate their houses to higher ground
- The government had assured many that relocations would be allowed
- Nineteen months after the disaster no relocations have occurred
Jo Kilburn and her family spent seven months painstakingly restoring the inside of their North Lismore home after it was inundated by record-breaking floods in February 2022.
It was not until several months later she discovered she was eligible to have her property bought back by the government because of its high-risk, flood-prone location.
"It's been quite a long process, a long journey for everyone involved," she said.
Residents were assured house relocations would be allowed last year, when the Resilient Homes program was announced to buy back, raise, or retrofit flood-damaged properties.
So far, no relocations have occurred.
Ms Kilburn wanted to relocate to avoid losing the time and money spent on her home of around 20 years, and because relocation is cheaper than building a new house.
She and her husband had a vacant block to move to but could not fund the relocation under the proposed terms of the buyback.
"One of the stipulations at this point in time is that we need to give vacant possession of the property before settlement of funds," she said.
"Where do we get the money to do that? The banks won't loan it to us."
The need for land
Like Ms Kilburn, it was not until after Saffron Bond completed an $80,000 rebuild that she was told she would be offered a buyback.
She said if she had known she would be eligible she would have set some of her limited funds aside to purchase a flood-free house, which is typically much more costly than a house on the flood plain.
"I would have been able to put, you know, $60,000 toward [buying another property] which would have put me in a totally different real estate bracket," she said.
"But I don't have that now."
Ms Bond said as well as being able to relocate her home she needed affordable land to be made available under the Resilient Lands recovery program, which aims to find new, flood-free sites for residential development.
"I can't afford the private market and I'm really hoping that the Resilient Lands program is set up in a way that will make it financially viable," she said.
She said offering a buyback without available land to move to was like "putting the cart before the horse".
A push for change
Ms Bond said it was not just money that would be lost if houses were not moved.
"Lismore basin was originally a red cedar rainforest before it was logged to within an inch of itself," she said.
"Most of the houses here are built from those timbers, it's all that's left of the rainforest here. They're special, and they're beautiful."
Ms Kilburn, Ms Bond, and other like-minded residents are feeling more hopeful after they met with state government officials recently to raise their concerns and lobby for change.
The group made a number of recommendations including advancing funds before settlement, allowing people to rent their properties from the government after the buyback while they transition to new sites, and streamlining the development application process.
Government working to address concerns
Lismore MP Janelle Saffin, who is also the Parliamentary Secretary for Disaster Recovery, said the meeting had been productive and improvements were in the works.
"Some of that work's already being done and over the next few weeks it should come to some finality," she said.
Ms Saffin said negotiations for land through the Resilient Lands program were underway and she was hopeful an announcement could be made in October.
The NSW Reconstruction Authority said its aim was to "relocate suitable homes wherever possible".
"Where it is not, we will make sure that the re-usability of homes is considered before any demolitions occur, including those purchased under the buyback program," the authority said.