Flood recovery boss Mal Lanyon promises Lismore can rebuild

The top cop leading the Northern Rivers flood recovery has promised locals that they will receive the help they desperately need to rebuild their lives.

Newly installed flood recovery boss Mal Lanyon has made a heartfelt promise to the reeling victims of the state’s north: “We have got your back.”

Deputy Commissioner Lanyon vowed the Northern Rivers will rebuild, and promised hope is on the horizon for the battered, weary community. But, he warned, the full clean-up and rebuild could take years.

In his first interview as the Northern NSW Recovery Coordinator, Mr Lanyon said his team would do everything it could for the drenched towns “for as long as it takes”.

“Absolutely, we can rebuild,” he said. “But we need to get the clean-up going because the community needs to see some progress.

Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon in Lismore talking to the Andrew Witchard and Doug Campbell from Essential Energy Picture: Danielle Smith

“This will not be quick, we are talking months and years to rebuild the entire Northern Rivers.

“It is not going to be an easy process purely because of the scale of what has to be done.

“We’ve got your back and we’re committed to being with the community right through the recovery.”

Deputy Commissioner Lanyon was last month appointed to lead the efforts across multiple agencies to restore Lismore back to its former glory.

Speaking after touring the town on Thursday, Deputy Commissioner Lanyon said he was stunned by what he has seen this week.

“There are piles of stuff that looks like waste at the side of the road but the reality is that is someone’s belongings,” he said.

Lismore resident Leah Harris, son Angus Marychurch and stepdaughter Meiko Chadwick whose house was flooded. Picture: Danielle Smith

“It is heartbreaking to see. I have seen a number of disasters in my career but coming to Lismore I have never seen anything like it.

“A lot of these people either had no insurance or very little insurance to cover them.”

So far 88,000 tonnes of waste has been removed from Lismore alone and the efforts of the recovery team is now shifting to address the mental health scars.

And there is the daunting task of ensuring that basic infrastructure remains in place for Lismore to get back on its feet.

“Part of that is ensuring that essential services don’t leave (the Northern Rivers),” Deputy Commissioner Lanyon said.

Inside the recovery centre. Picture: Danielle Smith

“Whether that is agencies like ours or things like banks.”

Inside the Regional Recovery Operations Centre at Southern Cross University in Lismore are scores of emergency service workers guiding

In the space of a few weeks the successive floods saw it go from focusing on emergency response, to recovery, back to emergency response and now hopefully recovery for the last time.

So far it has seen 7900 households register as being impacted by the floods, helped deliver 2394 tonnes of fodder to farms and co-ordinated 18,584 thousands truckloads of waste to be removed.

This week flood vicims have reportedly been forced to leave their temporary accomodation as hotels and caravan parks in the Northern Rivers prepare to welcome in holiday-goers over Easter.

Almost 8000 people have registered for help. Picture: Danielle Smith

Some will attempt to return to their partially destroyed homes while others are facing down the prospect of having nowhere to live.

It comes as education minister Sarah Mitchell also announced there would be $67 million of extra support for the region in the shape of trauma training, counsellors and childcare grants.

Deputy Commissioner Lanyon, who heads the NSW Police’s Metropolitan Field Operations, was appointed by the Premier on March 8 and flew to Lismore the day after.

It also just so happened to be his birthday.

It is a community, Deputy Commissioner Lanyon said, that is proving resilient in the face of disaster.

“One of the big things I’ve seen is the strength of the community,” he said.

“That sense of community has been there since day one.”

Got a news tip? Email [e-mail]