Inquiry to probe catastrophic $2bn floods in NSW

An independent inquiry will investigate responses to the catastrophic floods that left a $2 billion path of destruction across NSW.

An independent inquiry will investigate the catastrophic floods that left a $2bn path of destruction across NSW earlier this month following critical failures in emergency responses and continuing development on affected flood plains.

The wide-ranging inquiry will be led by NSW Independent Planning Commission chief Mary O’Kane, and former NSW police commissioner Mick Fuller.

The inquiry will examine the reasons for the frequency, intensity and location of floods; preparation and responses by government agencies; and long-term recovery.

The inquiry’s terms of reference go well beyond the review promised by Premier Dominic Perrottet into the State Emergency Service’s response to the flood disaster, following claims that the Australian Defence Force had ­offered help ahead of severe weather warnings but had been told it would not be required.

Catastrophic flooding in the Lismore region occurred three days later, with major shortages of rescue boats and helicopters ­significantly hampering rescue ­efforts.

ADF personnel did not arrive in numbers until several days after the peak of the floods.

The inquiry is specifically tasked with examining co-ordination and collaboration between all levels of government.

Professor O’Kane and Mr Fuller will also be free to make recommendations on the plan to raise the height of the Warragamba Dam by up to 17m to protect homes in western Sydney.

Australian Army aircrewman Warrant Officer Class Two Benjamin Dwyer from the School of Army Aviation prepares winch of a community member to safety from an MRH-90 Taipan, over Lismore.

Any recommendation by the pair to proceed with raising the dam wall would be a gift to the government, with the proposal stalled pending an environmental statement process and claims Indigenous cultural sites will be destroyed.

Among other lines of investi­gation, the inquiry will examine claims that private helicopter operators contracted to be on standby to assist emergency services around the state were either not used or diverted to lesser-affected areas such as the NSW south coast, where a predicted deluge of rain failed to eventuate.

SES Commissioner Carlene York has said that forecast ­con­ditions for the state meant certain resources were held back because of predicted flooding elsewhere.

Mr Perrottet has previously apologised for his government’s slow response to the flood crisis, acknowledging there had to be “frank assessments” of the state’s disaster mitigation strategies.

The government has appointed Deputy Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon as regional recovery co-ordinator in a bid to allay continuing anger, particularly in Lismore and other northern NSW communities, that assistance has been slow in coming.

Mr Perrottet denied claims that appointment was a duplication of existing roles already covered by Resilience NSW, the government disaster agency under fire for not delivering on previous bushfire and flood crises.

Critically, the inquiry will look at current and future land use planning and management and building standards in flood-prone locations across NSW.