Koori Kitchen forced to move from Lismore CBD after helping flood victims

A free food kitchen supporting flood victims with hundreds of hot meals a day has been ordered to pack up and move. One councillor contended “it makes the area look disgraceful”.

Big Rob sinks the Koori Kitchen.

A free food kitchen dedicated to supporting Lismore flood victims with 400-600 hot meals a day has been ordered to pack up and move.

The Koori Kitchen at the edge of the Lismore CBD delivered many thousands of meals during the height of the city’s flood crisis almost a year ago, and was still handing out hundreds a day until late last year.

Lismore City Council ordered for the kitchen to move from its location in a Molesworth Street car park and find a new site.

Interim general manager John Walker said last week businesses would need to use the car park as Lismore recovered post-flood and the marquee was “in a bad spot”.

Photos of the Koori Kitchen in Lismore on Molesworth Street. Photos: Koori Kitchen/Koori Mail.

Mr Walker made it clear the council had not directed the Koori Kitchen to close, only move to another location.

Leaked internal council emails reveal one sitting Lismore councillor was arguing favouritism was at play as he sought details about when the Koori Kitchen would move on.

Councillor Big Rob asked council staff on November 18, 2022 when Browns Creek car park would be cleared.

“When will the Koori Mail be made to remove all their rubbish along the levee wall, which is not approved?” Mr Rob asked.

“It is occupying many more carparking spaces, and it makes the area look disgraceful.”

The Koori Kitchen in Lismore on Molesworth Street. Photos: Koori Kitchen/Koori Mail.

In a reply, council staff told Mr Rob The Koori Mail and Koori Kitchen had agreed with the council and Resilience NSW to close the kitchen by November 30, 2022 and vacate the site.

Koori Kitchen manager Chelsea Claydon said she this was incorrect. She said she never committed to vacating on November 30, or any “end date”, and council had pressured her and the kitchen into that date.

After the 2022 floods, Lismore council and the state government brought in a 12-month moratorium for support services to not have to lodge development applications to use business premises until March 9, 2023.

In an email to Ms Claydon on November 16, 2022, manager of Lismore council assets, Scott Turner told her the site needed to be vacated in a shorter time frame to free up the car park for an anticipated busy shopping period to help local businesses recover post-floods.

“Having (the car park) unavailable is already attracting negative comments and complaints and more can be expected as we get closer to Christmas if this area remains unavailable,” he said.

The Koori Kitchen on Molesworth Street in Lismore. Photos: Koori Kitchen/Koori Mail.

Ms Claydon said the council should have let the kitchen continue feeding the community while they helped find a new location.

“I disagree that the closure of Koori Kitchen will improve Lismore’s commercial business interests during the Christmas period,” she said.

“There are still 7000 displaced members of this flood-affected community who still need support and services.”

Scott Turner told the Koori Kitchen that council had also received complaints that the free food and beverages were taking away trade from businesses that had reopened post flood.

“It is acknowledged that there are many people using the services of the Koori Kitchen that cannot, and would not visit those other businesses, (but) there are people that visit the Koori Kitchen who do have the capacity to source food and beverage from other places,” Mr Turner said.

Ms Claydon told council they would stop activities, but the tent would remain at the site through December while the volunteers held Christmas activities – which incensed Mr Rob.

Commenting on this delay in the relocation, councillor Rob said in November: “Are staff suggesting we continue blocking up our car park and leave the mess in place because the commercial Koori Mail business want to have a party in December?”

“When is this extraordinary favouritism going to end?”

Lismore councillor Big Rob. Picture: Supplied

On December 23, Mr Rob sent a follow-up email demanding to know when the Koori Kitchen would be moved.

Council staff told Mr Rob the tent would be moved in January, but the Koori Kitchen could lodge a development application to stay and continue operating on Molesworth Street.

Mr Rob replied: “That response is outrageous. Does the Koori Mail now dictate what council does?”

Big Rob writes on Facebook about wanting the Koori Kitchen gone from Molesworth St.

“I receive many complaints about this issue. Anyone else would have been shut down long ago and/or had compliance action taken against them,” he said.

“Do we really need to try to call an extraordinary council meeting to put one motion through to clean up the area, which should have never been allowed to be used like it is or for so long?

“If the Koori Mail made an agreement, why don’t we ask why they have not honoured it and ask that they honour it now and clean up the area?

“To treat everyone fairly, can we now tell our community that they can also store things in our busiest car parks indefinitely at no cost?”

Lismore councillor Big Rob.

Councillor Darlene Cook reached out to council staff on January 20 about helping the Koori Kitchen find an alternative site.

Council staff advised the property team had met with the Koori Kitchen about identifying alternative sites, and expected to provide the organisation with an update within two weeks.

Councillor Big Rob declined to comment on why he was pursuing the closure of the Koori Kitchen.