Money or willpower? State, local governments offer competing explanations for failed flood scheme

A voluntary acquisition scheme launched in 1984 to buy out flood-risk homes in southwest Sydney has been severely stunted through a lack of funding, leaving lives at risk. Read the excuses.

A slow-moving acquisition scheme is leaving families in flood-prone homes, and endangering lives, with local and state governments both pointing at each other.

The Moorebank Voluntary Acquisition Scheme was founded in 1984, to buy out properties on the Liverpool side of Milperra bridge, that face flood danger from the Georges River.

It was an acknowledgment by local, state, and commonwealth governments that the land should never have been developed, and people living there were put at risk.

But at the current rate of acquisition, people will still be cleaning out flooded homes in 2084 — 100 years after it was started.

Under the scheme, the state government provides two thirds of the purchase price, and the remaining third is paid by the local government.

The aftermath of the July 2022 floods for homes in the floodway. Picture: Paul Brescia

Liverpool mayor Ned Mannoun, and Liverpool City Council have told the Liverpool Leader the council does not have enough money from the state government to make acquisitions en masse, and has written to them, requesting more funding.

Milperra Rd, and Newbridge Rd, relied upon for evacuations, are highly prone to flooding, making evacuations more challenging for the families who live there. Picture: Paul Brescia

In the past 10 years, only $3.2 million has been provided to Liverpool City Council from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment to purchase homes.

That’s around $300,000 a year. Not enough to buy one third of a home.

The Liverpool Leader sent a list of questions to NSW MP Steph Cooke, Minister for Flood Recovery, asking:

Why have people been left living in this floodway, 38 years after the NSW Government decided the land should never have been developed?

Will the NSW Government be increasing the amount of money available to make acquisitions en masse to protect lives in the area?

When do you realistically expect the scheme to be completed, given at the current rate it would still be acquiring homes in 2084?

Bernard King points out how high the flood waters rose in his home by the Georges River on July 3. He was waiting for an acquisition offer when the floods hit. Picture: Paul Brescia

We received responses back, to be attributed to a spokesperson from the Department of Planning and Environment, seen below.

“Voluntary house purchase schemes in NSW are voluntary and require the owners’ willingness to sell the property to council at a price determined by a certified valuer.

“Environment and Heritage and its former agencies have a longstanding and excellent partnership with Liverpool City Council and always consider any request for voluntary purchase as a priority. Council is responsible for promoting the scheme to their flood-affected communities and negotiating the sale.”

When the Leader gave Minister Cooke’s office a second opportunity to respond to the questions, they declined.

Flood levels seen on a Moorebank home in 1986, and the possible maximum flood for the area. Two storey homes would be completely submerged. Picture: Supplied

So the State Government’s position is that any request it receives is treated as a priority, while Liverpool Council has said it does not have enough funding to purchase any more than it has.

Meanwhile, Bernard King, who lives in the floodway and is waiting on a suitable offer for his home, is stuck cleaning out his flooded home again and again.

And as time ticks, the risks increase, as 120 of the 175 properties listed have been bought and demolished, leaving less protection from rising waters for the 55 families that remain.