The acting NSW Premier has joined a growing group of Coalition colleagues who have slammed Scott Morrison for what they say was the Prime Minister’s slow pace in offering assistance to flood victims.
Paul Toole told ABC Radio on Friday the Prime Minister was “a bit slow coming to the table” and offering support for people in the state‘s north who have had their lives up-ended by the deluge.
“I am disappointed in relation to how they've only now acknowledged people in that area need support,” Mr Toole said.
Mr Morrison earlier in the week caused an outcry when an agency under his government’s control gave extra support cash to people in the Nationals electorate of Page – including the city of Lismore – but not to people in the Labor seat of Richmond, which was also hit hard.
A NSW Liberal MP said earlier in the week she would quit over the Commonwealth‘s handling of flood support and a state Nationals MP has also come out swinging against the Prime Minister.
The federal government reversed course on Thursday and agreed to include Richmond and the council areas of Tweed, Byron Ballina and Kyogle in the funding.
Mr Toole, who is in the top job while Dominic Perrottet is taking parental leave, said his visits to the state‘s north made it obvious more help was needed.
“If they were up there, and actually went around, and opened their eyes, would have seen those communities were also needing access to funding,” he said.
“I know the Commonwealth government have now come to the party but they are still behind what's already being offered by the NSW government.”
Mr Tool’s colleague Geoff Provest, a Nationals MP in state parliament‘s lower house representing Tweed, told the ABC on Friday locals felt forgotten by the Prime Minister.
“I'm very disappointed with the Prime Minister and the Emergency Services Minister, Bridget McKenzie in delaying it,“ he said.
“(Flood victims) kept asking that question over the last week, ‘Why were we excluded?’
“There's a lot of anger in our local community about it, they feel like they’re forgotten.”
The state MP who quit, upper house member Catherine Cusack, said on Thursday she was “outraged” by the funding snub for victims in Richmond.
“The idea that being a flood victim in a National Party-held seat makes you more worthy than a flood victim who is in the Richmond electorate … is probably the most unethical approach I have ever seen,” Ms Cusack said.
The NSW government has copped its share of criticism for the flood response as well, and Mr Perrottet earlier this month apologised to victims who felt abandoned by authorities.
The Prime Minister earlier apologised for waiting to declare the flood situation a national disaster.
Mr Perrottet, Mr Toole, and NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns have all said the flood disaster response should be reviewed.
“We want to find out what has gone well, what‘s gone poorly and make sure mistakes are corrected,” Mr Minns said earlier in the week.
“So that the best effort from the NSW Government, the State Emergency Services, Resilience NSW and all the other agencies that are responsible for emergency management are fixed and we don’t go through what we’ve seen over the last two weeks again.”
The Prime Minister’s office was contacted for comment.
