Lismore flood buybacks announced for homes by Anthony Albanese
The question everyone in Lismore has been asking for eight months has finally been answered. Find out how much you can get for your home.
Lismore
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It’s the news that flooded Lismore residents have been hoping for.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a shock visit to Lismore today (October 28), announcing $800 million for buybacks, house raising or retrofitting for 2000 homes in the Northern Rivers.
The cash will be offered only to Northern Rivers residents located in the most vulnerable areas – where major flooding would pose a catastrophic risk to life.
Mr Albanese delivered the news outside of the North Lismore home of Brian Burgin, who almost drowned during the February floods.
When Brian was rescued by a neighbour, the freezing floodwaters were almost up to his neck, and being in a wheelchair, he had to be lifted again and again out of the path of the rising flood waters.
Mr Albanese said $520 million will be exclusively for buybacks so that people like Brian can move somewhere out of harm's way.
The announcement will cover residents hit by the 2022 floods in the seven council areas of Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Tweed.
It will be a voluntary program – people will not be forced to walk away from their home.
The Northern Rivers Resilient Homes Fund package will also provide financial assistance of up to $100,000 for house raising or up to $50,000 for retrofitting, for homeowners in areas where flood risk can be reduced by better building standards.
Mr Albanese said $350 million had been put aside in Tuesday’s budget this week.
“I’m determined, as the Prime Minister of Australia, to work with all state and territory governments to get practical outcomes to look for solutions not to look for arguments,” Mr Albanese said.
The scheme will be jointly funded by the Commonwealth and NSW governments.
“This is not business as usual. The Commonwealth and the State coming to an agreement like this, this is the biggest agreement of its kind ever,” Mr Albanese said.
The state government will provide $100 million to acquire land and open up new flood-safe locations for future development, in partnership with the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said applications will open on Monday, with community consultation following shortly after.
“This has been a significant event. But we will work very closely with the community to relocate homes and raise homes as soon as we can,” Mr Perrottet said.
“The money is there. And it will flow in a way that works.”
Harper Dalton, of South Lismore told the Premier and Prime Minister while they were in Lismore today he didn’t just want buybacks, and what the government has announced was only a half-measure.
“I told him directly to his face I don't want that. I want the land but I want to move my pre-existing home,” Mr Dalton said.
“My home was built in 1910. It’s completely made out of red cedar and teak which you cannot get any longer.
“It’s survived the flood it deserves to be saved and there’s no point in rebuilding something when we can relocate a big part of our community identity here.
“Both the Premier and the Prime Minister were both open to relocation and they agreed that we should not be demolishing red cedar homes and hardwood homes and that these do represent a big part of the community identity in Lismore - they agreed with that.
“They just said that those finer details will be worked through as things rolling.
“The devil is in the detail.”
North Lismore resident Shane Atta-Singh had to move his car three times and then rush to get out before floodwaters hit his home.
“I think it’s about time (the buybacks’ announcement), it was starting to look like we had been forgotten or pushed aside,” he said.
“Hopefully it will go a long way to helping the town to get back on its feet.”
South Lismore resident Rahima Jackson is feeling a mixed bag of emotion over the governments’ announcement.
“I couldn’t hear the full conference, but I heard a bit on the radio,” Ms Jackson said.
“It mentioned a bit like they want to keep things in the area and the buyback sites still include swaps.
“They said something about building houses, so that’s the kind of stuff that’s relevant to me. I just don’t know any of the details.”
There appears to be a palpable sense of relief for many flood-worn battlers, but Ms Jackson doesn’t feel that.
“I know I should,” she said, “I know it’s a step in the right direction but I don’t really feel the relief about it.
“I think it’s more of the same, like just this long drawn-out trauma of it all.”
After losing her home to flood, the South Lismore resident is seeking direction for her life.
“I’ve had my house demolished now,” she said, “so I am really living in limbo like there is not a thing left I could do until I have direction.”
Ms Jackson feels money set aside for the government program won’t be enough to help all.
“You look at everyone affected in Lismore, Coraki and Woodburn alone, let alone any other areas, let alone landslips – I don’t think there is enough to help everyone,” she said.
East Lismore resident Em Stoddart had to gut her home after buying in an area she never thought would flood.
“I bought my house knowing it was ‘out of flood’, it had never had flood waters in it, it was well outside the one-in-100 year flood level, yet in February we had chest high water inside,” Ms Stoddart said.
“The announcement makes me happy for those who are along the banks of the river with houses continuously under threat of flooding. For me, I guess time will tell as more details emerge.”
Ms Stoddart is concerned that homes in East Lismore and Girards Hill may not meet the funding criteria.
“However with little detail this is just an assumption,” she said, “no one can say how frequently this size flooding will happen in the future.”
Ms Stoddart said trying to rebuild their home while saving as much of their take home pay as possible was exhausting.
“Mentally, rebuilding a house that may flood again is something a lot of people are really struggling with,” she said.
“Right now we are hoping for the best but expecting the worse, but I am pleased that many will be getting the assistance they need.
“I never thought someone who owned a home could be homeless … yet this is what we face.”
Johan Spek, of South Lismore, was stuck in freezing cold flood water and mud for six hours waiting to be rescued when the 14-metre February flood washed through.
Debris washed down by the flood waters collected against the house, barricading the doors from the outside – trapping them inside, while the water steadily rose.
“If we jumped in the water we would have been gone,” he said through tears. “I was getting cramps, I was going down and my wife was holding me up,” Mr Spek said.
“We were stuck in the house, we couldn’t do nothing.”
He said he was looking for a complete buyback. He wants to take his wife and get out of the flood zone – get out of Lismore.
He said he did not want to be around if it flooded again.
South Lismore resident Jilly Witham had flood waters reach the ceiling in her Kyogle Street home in February. At 70 she quipped how lucky she was to get out.
After trying to keep warm during winter the 70 year-old spends weekends at Terania Creek to rest and escape.
“I‘m hanging by a thread,” she told the Northern Star.
“I just heard the news that the expressions of interest are open,” she said, ”A friend messaged me about it, so still in shock really.
“I thought we would be waiting for that for ages so I am very glad that EOI‘s are finally open.”
When the announcement came out today Ms Witham said she is relieved to get another slow ball rolling.
“Its been awful waiting as one doesn‘t know how far to go ahead on the house,” she said.
“Mine needs new stumps so that‘s been a worry.
“If it all takes too long though I‘ll just fix the worst stumps and continue working toward getting the house ready to maybe rent it out and wait from afar.”
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