Lismore on North Coast NSW rallies to host Triple J’s One Night Stand after record 2022 floods
Lismore has thrown its support behind a bid to host Triple J’s One Night Stand after the festival’s five-year hiatus – and you would be hard-pressed to pick a regional city more deserving.
Opinion
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Lismore has thrown its support behind a bid to host Triple J’s One Night Stand after the festival’s five-year hiatus – and you would be hard-pressed to pick a regional city more deserving.
The northern NSW hub a world away from Sydney is still battling to get back on its feet more than two years after flooding surpassed expectations and shattered lives.
My hometown was battered by mud and muck and debris as record floodwaters surged through. Five people lost their lives across the Northern Rivers, according to authorities.
The emotional toll – the impact on mental health – is hard to quantify. It’s glimpsed as survivors bravely recount experiences. Pain still raw and uncertainty evident in forced smiles.
Insurers have dragged their feet, while the state and federal governments have tried – and arguably failed – to lift the region out of the doldrums in good time.
The recovery has been a crawl and morale is slow to build.
It’s hard to fathom the impact until you take a walk through eerily quiet streets which once buzzed with life. Lawnmowers whirring, kids screaming with laughter and small talk exchanged over the back fence. All gone.
There’s been scattered funding and well-meaning political stop-offs, but no real golden ticket. Perhaps it’s naive to expect there ever would be one when Mother Nature hits so damn hard.
Businesses remain shut and homes are still boarded up. There’s a sense the resilient city – which has flooded again and again over the years – almost met its match. Almost.
Then you talk to the people who have stayed and you can’t help but be inspired. They’re not giving up. And they are crying out for a boost – a bit of brightness in a horrible couple of years.
One Night Stand represents a beacon of hope for Lismore. Something to cling to. A chance to rally behind a cause and to showcase the best and brightest parts of the colourful city which has long been home to artists of all persuasions.
And hey, if you need a little more convincing, Triple J – ever-popular Byron Bay is a hop, skip and a jump down the road.
Heartfelt submissions to the radio station are no doubt pouring in from across Lismore as residents get involved. Local politicians like Mayor Steve Krieg, Lismore MP Janelle Saffin and Page MP Kevin Hogan have jumped on board and momentum appears to be building by the minute.
Let’s make it happen, Lismore.
Pitches can be submitted on the Triple J website.
Luke Mortimer is the editor of NewsLocal’s northern NSW bureau, including The Northern Star. Email: luke.mortimer1@news.com.au
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