Mid North Coast farmers get much-needed flood aid but ask why paperwork took so long

Struggling Mid North Coast farmers flooded out of their homes and properties have asked why the Minns government took so long to organise more flood aid when “blind Freddy” could see how needed it was.

Dairy farmer Tim Bale has questioned why it took the Minns government so long to deliver more flood aid to the Mid North Coast.

Struggling Mid North Coast farmers welcomed the Minns government’s move to increase disaster relief aid after the devastating May floods but questioned why it took so long when “blind Freddy” could see how desperate the situation is.

On Monday, The Daily Telegraph revealed the Minns government had finally requested federal government help in delivering Category D disaster aid to the region, which will increase the amount farmers receive from $25,000 to $75,000.

Dairy farmer Tim Bale, who runs a 413-acre property at Stewarts River about halfway between Taree and Port Macquarie, said the news was “fantastic” but would not go far in come cases.

“It is only a token for some farmers because we have lost a lot more than that,” he said.

“It is the business we are in, we know that, but this time it was very severe because a lot of farmers had to be evacuated, which hasn’t happened before with water going right through their houses.

NSW Police Polair aerial flood vision of Taree during the recent flooding disaster.

“If you have got to get out of your house and leave everything there it is catastrophic and it plays with your mind pretty bad. With farmers it is not just their job, it is their life.”

Mr Bale, who runs 300 milking cows plus heifers, said he was spared the worst because his house and dairy farm were on higher ground but others around him were not so lucky.

Many farmers had to be evacuated during the floods.

“There are a couple that are on the verge of walking away, there’s one or two in Kempsey and one or two here,” he said.

“There are a few people still trying to recover from the ‘21 flood and to have another big flood that’s even bigger in four years is unheard of.”

The drenched region was set to receive even more rain from the low pressure system causing storm conditions along the Australian eastern coast on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We might get 150 to 200mm over the next couple of days, normally we would say that’s not a big deal but it is now we have only had 10mm so far and it’s already straight back to mud,” Mr Bale said, adding that newly planted pasture for food might be lost.

Aussie Hay Runners provided much needed supplies to farmers during the floods. Picture: Chris Little

“I said to someone this morning that blind Freddy could see in ‘21 we got Category D in seven days and now it has been over a month and this flood was 1.2 metres higher and these farmers weren’t evacuated in ‘21 either,” he said.

Mr Bale said a friend of his had to send 200 cows to the abattoir and only has 200 left from a milking herd of 800 and was also flooded out of his house and dairy.

“In his words ‘it’s just sh*t’,” Mr Bail said.

When approached about whether and when Category D aid was going to be delivered, a spokesperson for Minister for Recovery Janelle Saffin said NSW couldn’t do it alone and had needed to time to approach the federal government.

“This time we need the deeper pockets of the Commonwealth government,” the spokesperson said.

“These events are now happening more frequently, and the devastation is larger. Over the last four and a half years, the New South Wales Government has committed $6 billion to disaster relief in New South Wales.

“We understand the community’s sense of urgency regarding this application, but we wanted to do our best to make sure that the application is successful.

“A Category D submission is very detailed. This is why we announced category C within weeks of the natural disaster, so that primary producers and small businesses got some initial support.”

However, Liberal Member for Port Macquarie Robert Dwyer said the excuse for the delay wasn’t good enough with the previous Coalition government announcing Category D shortly after disasters and doing the paperwork later.

He said farmers were “extremely disappointed” it has taken so long.

“Now they just feel like they have been left behind, left out in the cold,” Mr Dwyer said.

“The other disappointing thing is they feel the government has forgotten about how important their businesses are and the multiplier effect these businesses have, for every dollar they spend four dollars are spent back into the community.

“My feeling on that is the budget has just come out and this government is inexperienced in dealing with such a high level of disaster and they then have to deal with how it is administered and how does it work.

“It’s a matter of announcing it so the people at the grassroots level get a comfort, so they know the support is there.”

“They are mums and dads just keeping their heads above water.

“People have been hurt, they haven’t had insurance, locked into contracts with their tenancy arrangements and a lot of them that I know are still paying wages because they care so much for their staff even though they can’t attend a place of work.”