A Tweed Heads building industry leader says rebuilding the Northern Rivers will be a task too big for local businesses, and a top-tier construction company is needed to help the region bounce back.
Key points:
- A Tweed business owner says top-tier construction companies will have to help flood-impacted regions
- The industry was already “frayed” following border closures
- Building companies and employees are among those who have lost homes to floods
Master Builders Association representative Peter Leotta is dealing with the aftermath of the floods on a personal and professional level, and said the devastating event had “spared no-one”.
“Even if you weren’t impacted directly, you’ve got a family member or employee that might work for you, an associate, friend or colleague that’s been impacted,” Mr Leotta said.
The impact on the local construction industry is crushing, especially after businesses worked through the challenges of the pandemic and border closures.
“Our industry was already frayed. We had essentially 680 days with closed borders,” Mr Leotta said.
“As a construction industry, building companies have struggled. We had to diversify significantly.”
Mr Leotta said the damage was widespread, affecting most parts of the industry from employees to manufacturers.
“If we look at all the low-lying areas, typically through the Northern Rivers, they’re usually partially commercial locations.
“Machinery is going to take 12 months. It’s best to rebuild a lot of cases.
“And of course that will have an immediate impact on our industry and we’ll have an ongoing impact on an already frayed industry, ongoing for some period of time.”
Help to rebuild on a mass scale
Mr Leotta said the first step was about looking after people, then assessing the damage.
But he said help was needed from top-tier construction companies to rebuild across the region.
“Rather than local trades and local businesses rebuilding, it will need first- and second-tier building firms to step into a region and assist in that rebuild process on a mass scale,” he said.
“It’s not about rallying the local builders, it’s not about rallying local people, although that will always happen.
“This is at such a scale that it requires organisations that are significant enough to be able to have a national reach, and therefore have that size to be able to step in support the system.”
Hundreds of homes lost
Mr Leotta said it had been an incredibly challenging time for the area, with hundreds of old and new homes across the region damaged.
“There’s been houses under construction that have been lost, which is always difficult, people that are building a new home have had it destroyed, or flood-affected, before they even get the opportunity to move in.
“It is absolutely disheartening.”
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