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Jan 26, 2024

Eighteen months on from record NSW Northern Rivers flooding, just 70 eligible homes have buyback settled

Flood-affected northern NSW residents caught in limbo by the home buyback scheme are calling on the government to fulfil promises made to those hardest hit by last year's catastrophe. Eighteen months

Flood-affected northern NSW residents caught in limbo by the home buyback scheme are calling on the government to fulfil promises made to those hardest hit by last year's catastrophe.

Eighteen months on from the disaster, six per cent of the eligible 1,100 households identified by the Reconstruction Corporation have had a buyback settled.

South Lismore resident Craig Virtue was notified last month that his flood-hit home on Casino Street was not eligible for a buyback under the $700 million Resilient Homes Fund.

"We were expecting something, but they decided they weren't going to help us out in any way, shape or form," he said.

"It was literally heart-breaking, none of us deserve this.

"It's just something way out of [our] hands and unfortunately it's left us all in limbo."

Mr Virtue and his wife are paying a mortgage on a damaged home they can't live in, while they rent a granny flat at a friend's home in Goonellabah.

"We are very grateful, we are just some of the lucky ones," Mr Virtue said.

"People around here [are] living in cars, tents and set-up mobile units — that's not a great way to live."

The NSW government estimates there are around 1,000 residents across the Northern Rivers living in 11 temporary "pod" housing villages.

Mr Virtue said many in the community felt they had been forgotten by government leaders, who made big promises after the floods.

"People here need help," he said.

"Please don't make broken promises you can't keep.

"We are hard-working people, we deserve a fair go and we deserve our lives back just like everyone else."

Catastrophic flooding downstream of Lismore in the Richmond River left Deborah Johnston stranded for six weeks at her rural property at Bungawalbin.

Ms Johnston said maps released by the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation (NRRC) in June zoned her creek-side home as a priority for buyback.

But a revised map by the NRRC has changed her eligibility.

"We've gone from priority one buyback to priority four house raising, because they've shifted the boundaries of the property," she said.

"It's unbelievable."

Meanwhile, the Bungawalbin levee, which has had make-shift repairs, is not expected to be able to withstand even a minor flood.

"Emergency services can't get out here, the levee can't be fixed, we are devastated, what can we do?" Ms Johnston said.

"We can't live in life jackets for the rest of our lives."

The Resilient Homes Fund has 6,908 households registered, of which 1,100 house buybacks and 400 house-raising or retro-fitting projects will be funded.

As of August 25, the NSW government had made 477 buyback offers, of which 246 had been accepted and 70 completed.

A spokesperson said the Resilient Homes Fund was the largest of its kind in Australia.

Close to $4.6 billion has been allocated to support recovery efforts, including grants to families, landholders and business owners.

A spokesperson from the NSW Department of Communities and Justice said the latest figures showed 82 flood-affected households, comprising 118 people, were being housed in emergency accommodation in the Northern Rivers, in addition to those living in pod villages.

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