Failure, Incompetence & Fistfights: Details Emerge Of Botched Response To Record NSW Flooding
Lismore residents have told of fights breaking out between members of the public trying to help and officials attempting to implement a failed “top-down” approach during the height of the flood emergency. Several community witnesses at a parliamentary inquiry into catastrophic flooding in the town told MPs on Tuesday they were completely disillusioned with Resilience NSW, the new agency established in 2020 to lead disaster and emergency efforts from prevention to recovery.
But it was far from the only state agency to face criticism. One man told of a physical fight with volunteers from another state agency because he was helping boat owners launch their crafts into the flood waters to rescue stranded residents. A local councillor said he had defied a request from one department to stop feeding evacuees in need of comfort at an evacuation centre. The hearing heard countless tales of government unpreparedness during the peak of the crisis, in the recovery centres and as efforts continue to find accommodation for the thousands left homeless.
Earlier in the day, Lismore MP Janelle Saffin said the lead recovery body, Resilience NSW, had been “found wanting at every level”. “It’s institutionally incapable of doing the job,” she said. “They were missing in action and they never made their presence known.”
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Hanabeth Luke, a university researcher who carried out boat rescues, described the region’s mental health as terrible, with people falling into a “catatonic state of depression”. She warned the disaster should be a wake-up call for Australia as climate change creates increasing challenges. “This is about how we as Australians work together, listen to each other, and get the best outcome … for communities at this time of climate interruption.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/01/fights-broke-out-as-top-down-approach-to-lismore-flood-response-failed-inquiry-told
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