Flood reconstruction body will have power to acquire or subdivide land and fast-track planning

The head of the newly formed Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation (NRRC) is urging flood-affected residents to be patient as the organisation works out the best long-term solution to rebuild Lismore and surrounding communities.

Since the recording-breaking February 28 flood, state government authorities have tallied 8,359 damaged buildings – 3,585 of which are uninhabitable — across the seven Northern Rivers local government areas.

Civil engineer David Witherdin, who leads the New South Wales Public Works Advisory, has been appointed chief executive of the regionally-based corporation, which will officially be formed on July 1.

Mr Witherdin said connecting flood-affected residents to temporary housing programs was an immediate priority, but thorough consideration needed to be given to the long-term options before any certainty could be given about “whether rebuilding is the right situation”.

“Maybe [the solution is] rebuilding better, in terms of more flood-resilient materials, or it may be that in some locations we know that we can’t make it safe and really the best thing will be to relocate.”

How will the reconstruction corporation work?

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the NRRC would coordinate the long-term flood response of multiple government agencies for the planning and rebuilding of essential services and housing.

“We know the community needs certainty. We are working through recovery and we have an independent inquiry underway that will hear from all of those impacted, from experts and the scientific community,” Mr Perrottet said.

The NRRC will be supported by an advisory board consisting of local representatives such as mayors, local politicians and community leaders and will report to the Deputy Premier.

The new body will have the power to compulsorily acquire or subdivide land, fast-track the construction of new buildings and accelerate planning proposals through the Department of Planning and Environment.

Resilience NSW will continue to be responsible for providing immediate relief resupplying impacted communities, restoring essential services, cleaning up properties and providing temporary accommodation for the short and medium terms.

Mr Perrottet said there was no cap on the NRRC in terms of funding and he expected it would be in place for three to five years.

A ‘turning point’ in region’s flood recovery

Lismore MP Janelle Saffin has been calling for a reconstruction commission so there would be a single body that could “cut through” the red tape and demonstrate the magnitude of the disaster, which was beyond anything the region had previously faced.

Ms Saffin said today’s announcement represented a turning point in the recovery.

The Labor MP praised the bipartisan support from the state government, saying the Premier and Deputy Premier had listened to her and to the community.

Mr Perrottet acknowledged that uncertainty about the long-term plan was difficult, but said too often governments rushed to make announcements, which resulted in the wrong decisions being made.

“I would prefer there to be a period of time where there may be some uncertainty as long as we get the right outcome at the end of it,” he said.

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