Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s planned visit to Lismore from Wednesday could be a repeat of his excruciating encounter with angry residents of Cobargo during the 2019 bushfires.
Many in the flood-affected region say they were left to fend for themselves as waters rose, and for days after, describing the government as grossly unprepared for the disaster.
“We’re planning a shirt fronting!” Lismore resident Laurie said. “We’re ready to line up so he can’t shake our hands.”
In announcing measures to release more disaster funding on Tuesday, Mr Morrison said he would travel to the Northern Rivers region as soon as he leaves Covid-19 quarantine.
“I’ll be there this week, as soon as I can come out of isolation, to see this first-hand and talk to the community,” Mr Morrison said.
“It is just mind-boggling; the scale of the flood in and around Lismore. I’ve been in constant contact with the (NSW) Premier about this.”
However, he could be faced with more awkward handshake moments, reminiscent of his visit to Cobargo, where residents vented their frustration on the Prime Minister, who infamously spent part of the disaster in Hawaii.
“The government are non-interventionist, no taxation, just cut everything, and then a crisis comes along and they’re not ready. Who would have guessed?” Laurie said.
For over a week since the floods hit, Laurie has struggled to find reasonable accommodation for his disabled brother and 91-year-old mother, who both require ongoing care.
On Monday they were finally able to arrange a month’s worth of lodgings through the NDIS, which contacted him in relation to his brother.
“I’ve got a lot of work on. My house has gone, not quite up to the roof, but I’ve had to deconstruct and throw everything out of the house,” he said.
“So I can’t get them back into the house until it’s back up to scratch and I don’t know how long that’s going to take me.”
The extent of government assistance so far has been $1000 immediate disaster relief payment and a welfare phone call from the police two days after the inundation, Laurie said.
He was also able to source some food from an evacuation centre, which he said was busy catering for Lismore’s existing homeless population.
Laurie said the community kept him and his family alive and have been the ones helping remove debris around and inside the house.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet announced Tuesday that more ADF troops would be deployed to the Northern Rivers, along with “recovery centres” and additional mobile Service NSW centres.
“These recovery centres will allow you to be able to go into these places, talk to someone face-to-face, and you will be able to get the advice about how to get some accommodation, how to get a roof over your head,” Mr Perrottet said.
The Prime Minister also met with the expenditure review committee to sign off on the additional funding measures.
While detail on the nextxjmtzyw tranche of support is scant, Mr Morrison told the AFR Business Summit more money was on the way to help communities rebuild.
“The government is finalising its first wave, over and above measures, particularly for the Northern Rivers area. (The) NSW government is doing the same,” he told reporters.
“We're looking to integrate those plans as much as possible to ensure that we can rebuild northern NSW, particularly in the most acutely affected area in and around Lismore.”
Seeking to downplay criticism of the flood response, Mr Morrison pointed to the $1bn that had been directed to Queensland and NSW in addition to the $200m paid out in emergency payments.
“Not just about short-term clean-up and the challenges we face in the immediate response … but also in the long reconstruction that is going to be needed.”
Mr Morrison conceded the floods were an unfortunate reminder of the increased frequency and intensity of national disasters.
But when it came to climate change, he insisted the government had the settings right.
“We will not sacrifice our nation’s energy security, trading off affordability and reliability,” Mr Morrison said.
“We’ve got the balance right when it comes to managing emissions reduction and growing our economy and supporting our traditional industries.”
But he conceded the global environment was unstable, and Australians would continue to live in an era of uncertainty for some time.
“The world has become a more uncertain, less stable and more dangerous place,” he said,
“I wish I could say this era of radical uncertainty is coming to an end, but it’s not.
“I can say with confidence that our government is the best placed to continue to navigate Australia’s way through these incredibly difficult and uncertain times.”
Laurie agreed Australia faces more upheaval, including worsening natural disasters, but said so far the government had catastrophically dropped the ball
“It’s an incredibly catastrophic period in our history – where we need to be ready,” Laurie said.
“It’s just about our attitude to where the government fits in our lives. At the moment we hate taxation and we hate having to spend anything and then when the sh*t hits the fan, we’re utterly unprepared – and they were utterly unprepared.”
