BLAZEAID TIME TO MOVE ON

“Farmers are upset that we are leaving” THEY HAVE TO GET THE BLAZES OUT

By SAMANTHA ELLEY

Throughout the fres and foods that Richmond Valley has experienced, one group of people has been constant, helping farmers rebuild their fences each time they get damaged by a natural disaster.

The team of BlazeAid has been working in the local area since the fres of 2019/2020.

Now they have been asked by Richmond Valley Council to move on.

“We are looking for somewhere else to go as Council has told us that three years is enough to get work done with the farmers,” said BlazeAid volunteer Cindy Lusted.

Cindy and her husband Wayne are retirees from Tasmania who have brought their caravan and wanted to do some good in the area.

“My brother and his partner are here as well,” she said.

“We have around nine people at the moment, but are expecting around 15 people straight after Christmas.”

The team has been helping about 249 residents in the Richmond Valley and still has 169 that need help.

“Out of 397 farmers registered, many had to reregister for the second or third time after each disaster,” said Cindy.

“It’s been a real battler to contend with frst fre, food and more foods continuing.

“Some farmers cannot afford fencing or materials as their whole life has either been burnt or washed away.”

Despite being asked to leave, Cindy said there was still a lot of work to be done.

“Farmers are upset that we are leaving,” she said.

“We are going to have to ring the 169 people to tell them we can’t do their fences.

“It doesn’t cost the council for us to be there, most of us have our vans. We just need toilets and showers.”

A post on Richmond Valley Council’s Facebook page was full of gratitude for the work the BlazeAid volunteers had done over the past three years.

“Richmond Valley Council will take the opportunity to write to the charity’s founder Kevin Butler to thank him and his many volunteers for their support of the community over the past three years,” said the post.

“Council has hosted BlazeAid since late 2019, providing and maintaining the camp facilities free of charge.

“With the Richmond Valley community moving to its next phase of recovery, which is towards a business-asusual approach, this will enable the BlazeAid volunteers to move to other parts of NSW in need of assistance following recent food events.”

BlazeAid volunteers will need to vacate their Rappville base by January 22, but Cindy believes there is still around three month’s worth of work to be done.

“We do need three more months and many more volunteers to help with this task,” she said.

“We will now need a new venue to continue and complete our work.

“If anyone has suggestions or contact on someone who is willing to host us, please get in touch.”

You can contact BlazeAid on 0418 745 994

HAVE YOUR SAY ON THE LISMORE PLANNING PANEL

The NSW Government has announced the creation of a local planning panel for Lismore. The panel will be made up of independent experts and community representatives to determine contentious and complex development applications and provide advice on other planning matters.

The panel has been created to speed up and improve the predictability of land and housing planning processes to support food-recovery efforts.

Lismore City Council is calling for Expressions of Interest (EOI) from Lismore residents who would be interested in joining the planning panel. Community representatives are not expected to be experts in planning matters but bring local knowledge and experience to the decision-making process. The Lismore Planning Panel will include four members: • a ministerappointed chair with expertise in law or government and public administration • two independent experts appointed by Lismore City Council (from a minister-endorsed pool of candidates) • a community representative appointed by Lismore City Council to ensure local insights and knowledge are considered as part of the panel’s decision-making. Lismore Council is seeking to appoint a minimum of four (4) community representatives to a pool that can be utilised as needed. Councillors, property developers and real estate agents are ineligible to be panel members. The selection criteria for community representatives are that they: • are current residents within the LGA • have an understanding of the LGA and issues of concern to the local community • have the capacity to form independent views and to contribute constructively to the determination of applications • are able to demonstrate a basic level of understanding of the planning system, (i.e. knowledge of the council’s local environmental plan, development control plan, local strategic planning statement or community strategic plan) • are committed to following the Code of Conduct for Local Planning Panel Members and the Local Planning Panels Operational Procedures; and attending local planning panel meetings and completing panel business in required timeframes. The statutory requirements for members and details of remuneration can be found at https://www. planning.nsw.gov.au/ Assess-and-Regulate/ Development-Assessment/ Local-Planning-Panels/ Statutory-rules The Lismore Planning Panel will commence its functions as soon as practicable after 13 February 2023. Expressions of Interest are open until Tuesday, 31 January 2023. To express an interest, go to https://yoursay.lismore. nsw.gov.au/eoi-lismoreplanning-panel

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I SHALL FIGHT TO SAVE OUR SCHOOLS: SAFFIN

By Janelle Saffn MP State Member for Lismore

THE Nationals in the NSW Government are ploughing on with their half-baked plan to close Murwillumbah’s four public schools, merging them into an American-styled mega school campus. A halfbaked plan that will do nothing to advance the educational outcomes for local students.

This is despite widespread community concern and outright opposition.

Tweed Shire Council on 5 December 2022 formally objected to the proposed Murwillumbah Education Campus -- State Signifcant Development (SSD16848913) due to ‘remaining concerns’ about ‘a number of unresolved matters’.

Council then wrote to NSW Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell MLC, inviting her again to meet with community representatives, Parents & Citizens, students and families affected by the NSW Government’s decision to move ahead with the Murwillumbah Campus and closing the four public schools in Murwillumbah.

A move that I fully support.

Since the meeting I arranged with the Minister at Murwillumbah High, at which we were promised to be sent the ‘educational benefts’, we have not received even one word.

Because there is no educational beneft. We all know that.

We all know that it is a cost cutting exercise and that the Murwillumbah community will not gain educational benefts, will not get the Performing Arts Centre promised, will lose space for students, will lose country school identities, will have traffc and bus mayhem, and to top it off, will lose 20 teachers and four administrative staff.

Given Council’s formal objection on outstanding matters and the widespread and continued community opposition to the mega campus, the NSW Government should withdraw its development application before the start of the 2023 academic year.

If elected at the March 25 State Election, a Minns Labor Government will kill off the Nationals in Government’s half-baked plan and instead will keep open Murwillumbah High School, Wollumbin High School, Murwillumbah East Public School and Murwillumbah Public School.

We will consult these school communities on much-needed infrastructure upgrades to these schools, and continue with the upgrades underway. This election commitment was made by NSW Shadow Minister for Education Prue Car and myself at a community meeting in Murwillumbah on 16 November 2021, and was reaffrmed by NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns when he met with stakeholders at a public education forum in Murwillumbah in late September.

A little over two years ago, former Deputy Premier and Nationals leader John Barilaro (now not on the scene) and his colleagues rode into town to announce his half-baked thought bubble of closing four schools without any prior consultation and now they are left cleaning up the chaos.

I shall fght to save our schools.

Pothole repair funds a win

MY lobbying for extra funding to fx pothole-riddled local and regional roads across the Lismore Electorate in the wake of this year’s foods has paid off but the problem deserves more attention going into 2023.

I’ve been raising the pothole issue with the NSW Government before and since the foods, and I welcome the $50-million Fixing Local Roads Pothole Repair Round as a win from that sustained, strategic advocacy.

It’s a start but what would really help our local councils is if The Nationals in Government honoured their 2019 election promise to transfer 15,000 kilometres of regional roads from local councils to State ownership.

The Nationals have shown no sense of urgency in delivering this key election commitment.

NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway MLC even had the audacity to claim that it’s not a burning issue for councils.

Tell that to local people whose tyres and suspensions are being wrecked on deteriorating country roads or to mayors and general managers trying to keep up with their road maintenance backlogs.

From last month (December 2022), 94 regional councils are receiving their share of the Fixing Local Roads Pothole Repair Round.

The grant allocations included: • Lismore City Council -- $422,000. • Kyogle Council -- $415,000. • Tweed Shire Council – $428,000. • Tenterfeld Shire Council -- $579,000.

Energy plan essential

PARLIAMENT was recalled for one more sitting day (Wednesday, 21 December), throwing my diary into a new level of chaos, so I again apologise for missing some end-of-year engagements.

Both Houses sat to pass the Energy and Utilities Administration Amendment Bill 2022, essential for households and businesses here in the Northern Rivers and Northern Tablelands regions.

In the Legislative Assembly, there were only two speakers – NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns, who said:

NSW Labor supports the bill. We join the Premier in supporting the Albanese Federal Government’s energy plan, which will deliver price relief to families and businesses. We support a bipartisan and Federation-wide response to the energy crisis gripping our State and the entire country. We support the Premier’s decision to recall the Parliament to deal with this legislation as a matter of urgency. Intervention in the energy market is desperately needed for families whose ambitions and budgets have been shattered by unsustainable energy price rises. It is needed for thousands of businesses whose energy input costs are sending them to the wall. It is needed by hundreds of thousands of employees whose businesses and jobs will be at risk if the bill does not pass.

HAPPY NEW YEAR:

State Member for Lismore Janelle Saffn is approaching 2023 with complete optimism and wishes readers of The Northern Rivers Times all the best for the year ahead.

Janelle Saffn MP State Member for Lismore

As Council prepares to take a break over the Christmas period, we take stock of the year that was so dominated by the flood of February 2022 – the biggest flood in the Tweed’s recorded history which devastated much of the region.

The destruction and damage to the Tweed’s infrastructure, services, businesses and individuals caused widespread angst and distress and the financial cost amounts to many millions of dollars.

Getting the Tweed up and running again has been a focus for Council and the many organisations involved in recovery efforts. Actions have ranged from temporary fixes, to full reconstruction of damaged infrastructure and supporting those in the community still impacted by the flood.

Restoration of infrastructure and services

Restoration works commenced in March and will continue through 2023 and well into 2024.

Supporting the Tweed’s recovery by reconnecting communities and restoring infrastructure and assets has been a priority for Council.

The challenge has been not just to restore infrastructure but where feasible, incorporate greater resilience.

Mayor of Tweed Shire Chris Cherry said it was essential Council works with other agencies and organisations to prepare for, mitigate and build resilience to both natural disasters and climate change.

“Being able to provide the community with reliable essential services and infrastructure is a key part of Council’s strategic plan,” Cr Cherry said.

“The total damage bill from the floods of February and March for Council has been revised up and is now estimated at more than $110 million.”

Cr Cherry said she was extremely proud of the Tweed community and the unity shown in times of disaster.

“I’m always really impressed by the incredible spirit of the Tweed community and the efforts undertaken to help others in their time of need and this was no exception,” she said.

“We still have a lot of work to do in this rebuilding phase, but I would like to applaud the efforts of our community and our Council staff in being able to achieve so much this year.

“Our efforts now will help us plan better to make sure we are ready for any future events given the anticipated impact of climate change.”

A large portion of the cost has been damage to the road network, including 10 significant landslips which have caused major disruptions to the community.

Restoring the road network has been a complicated and lengthy process with an estimated road damage bill of more than $90 million.

To date, a total of 3,780 road damages have been identified which is more than double that following the 2017 exCyclone Debbie floods and does not include minor repairs such as potholes.

As at the end of November, Council has spent more than $39 million on flood restoration works. The bulk of this expenditure is in road repairs including: • Council has completed 100% of the Emergency Works – 730 • Council has completed 76% of Immediate Reconstruction Work – 1601 out of 2104 locations • Council has repaired 36,242 potholes. The flood recovery has included a massive clean-up operation, removing flood debris and commercial and residential items destroyed or damaged in the floods. The cost of the waste collection and disposal was $4.1million. • This involved clearing 26,000 tonnes of flood waste including household goods (equivalent to an additional 2/3 of the annual waste volume the community usually produces) • Among this waste was 1,440 tonnes of asbestos • An estimated 75,000 tonnes of mud debris were also collected and removed (including setting up a temporary waste processing facility with approvals from the Environmental Protection Authority). Some 90 Council buildings were damaged in the floods along with damage to items such as water and sewerage, flood mitigation and waterway assets. The estimated cost to restore these facilities is in the order of $20 million. To date more than $2.15 million worth of repairs have been carried out including: • Repairs to community assets and parks - $850,000 • Council depot repairs - $600,000 • Water and wastewater repairs - $700,000 • Flood mitigation assets - $300,000.

Support the community recovery

The disaster didn’t just place huge cost on Council, the community was also hit hard by the 2022 floods. More than 2,100 homes were damaged and of those, 500 were deemed no longer habitable and an estimated 1,600 people required temporary accommodation.

An extensive support network was established to provide support to those impacted by the floods.

In addition to this, Council also provided $250,000 in support for recovery services.

During this time, Council launched the Mayoral Flood Appeal which raised $80,230 which was distributed to various organisations including the Murwillumbah Community Centre, local SES units, the Northern Rivers Community Foundation, the Family Centre and to isolated Tweed communities for communications equipment.

The demand for support services at the Murwillumbah Community Centre (MCC), which was damaged by floodwaters, increased dramatically. Forced to relocate to Council-provided facilities at the Coolamon Centre, the MCC team was kept busy, particularly in the early months after the floods.

The number of people accessing MCC support services from March to June 2022: • emergency relief increased 15.4 times compared to those seeking assistance in 2021, with 924 people (# occasion of services) seeking support for themselves and their families • general information, advice, and welfare support increased by 268% with a total of 1,928 people assisted • financial counselling tripled with a total of 59 people serviced since March.

The Chinderah Donation Hub was established in March to assist flood-impacted residents, especially those living in caravan parks in the local area.

Since March, the Hub has assisted more than 3,500 people through to December.

With the support of the Australian Red Cross, the floods also saw the establishment of 19 Community Resilience Teams (CRT) in the Tweed, covering 43 at-risk communities. The Pottsville CRT topped the count in terms of assistance, dealing with approximately 6,000 people since the flood.

Council also invited businesses to submit self-assessments of the impact of the floods in March. From those assessments, it was estimated the cost to the local economy was, at the time, around $58 million but since then, that figure is estimated to be much higher.

In the wake of these devastating floods, the Tweed community has shown great resolve and compassion for each other, coming together to recover and rebuild.

To follow what Council and these amazing organisations within our community have been doing in terms of flood recovery, visit tweed.nsw.gov.au/floodrecovery-update.

MEASURING THE COST OF THE 2022 FLOOD

The long path to recovery continues into the new year

The damage caused by the February 2022 food has been revised up to $110 million, with recovery efforts set to continue well into 2023 and beyond.