Insurance payouts to drive wave of Lismore development
As insurance cash hits bank accounts across the city, residents can move to rebuild after the floods. But the plan to make Lismore great again is not without its challenges:
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Frustrated Lismore homeowners will have to find an extra gear of patience as the nation’s peak insurance body warns councils to brace for a surge of development applications as flood-stricken communities look to rebuild.
The Northern NSW-Queensland floods - categorised by the Insurance Council of Australia as a single event - is now ranked as Australia’s third most expensive weather-related disaster, behind only Cyclone Tracey (1974) and the Sydney hailstorm of 1999.
With claims still dribbling in from the floods in February/March, the insurance bill has reached $4.8 billion.
Some 30 per cent of those claims have now been settled, and $1.5b paid out - sparking the next pinchpoint in Lismore’s determined and challenged recovery.
Lismore City Council as the body charged with assessing development applications faces a near perfect storm.
Wracked by Covid absenteeism like all organisations, council is already down on troops in its planning department - while third party experts such as consultants who might help tackle development applications (DAs) are also flat-strap.
Lismore City Council general manager John Walker said it was important to note that most flood-repair works are exempt developments and do not require consent.
But the red tape kicks in for new builds, and where alterations or additions are in the scope of works.
“Due to the current development boom, the time frame (for Lismore DA determinations) is now between 40 to 60 days,” Mr Walker said.
“Council is attempting to reduce the current assessment period by actively seeking to recruit additional resources. However, all planning departments across the state are finding a shortage of qualified planners.”
As it is, council’s Built Environment Department is already shy of full strength.
“Due to the pandemic, the number of staff on sick leave is still a challenge. This is compounded by the continuing Covid-development boom,” Mr Walker said.
“Council has also engaged consultants to assist. However the availability of consultants is limited as they are overwhelmed in their own practices.”
Insurance Council of Australia CEO Andrew Hall said the size of the challenge is enormous.
“The sheer scale of the extreme weather event that devastated Queensland and NSW is something we have never seen before, and the cost continues to rise,” Mr Hall said.
“Insurers are working hard to resolve claims as quickly as possible and have put on hundreds of extra staff to support claims processing as delays not only impact the policyholder, in most cases they also add costs to the insurer.
“Past experience has shown us that local councils need to be looking at what they can do to process the higher than usual number of development applications we expect to see as a result of this flood.”
Despite all of the hurdles, Mr Walker is confident council and the community can manage Lismore’s re-emergence.
“Council staff have actively engaged with the community and fielded a large number of inquiries regarding flood construction and building use matters,” he said.
“We continue to offer assistance on a daily basis as we work with our community to rebuild Lismore back better.”
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