Residents who have been left with "nowhere to live" in northern NSW areas devastated by floods will not be eligible for extra disaster payments announced by the federal government yesterday.
Key points:
- Almost half of the homes damaged by floods in northern NSW are in Lismore
- Richmond Valley, Lismore and Clarence Valley residents can access a further $2,000 for adults and $800 for children
- Barnarby Joyce says it is fair that payments are focused on the Lismore area
Nearly 3,200 homes have been found to be damaged by flooding in northern NSW, almost half of which are in the Lismore council area, according to the latest data.
Resilience NSW has assessed 451 homes in Lismore as severely damaged, 872 as moderately damaged and 211 as slightly damaged, while 52 non-residential properties have been damaged, two of which are completely destroyed.
More than 600 homes have been damaged in the Tweed Shire Council, 580 in the Ballina Shire Council area and 223 in the Byron local government area (LGA).
Damage assessments are ongoing and those numbers are expected to increase.
Despite those three areas recording more damaged homes than the Clarence Valley (16 homes) and Richmond Valley (192 homes) LGAs, they were not included in the Prime Minister's announcement of two extra Commonwealth disaster payments for flood-affected residents.
Speaking in Lismore yesterday afternoon, Scott Morrison said residents in the LGAs of Richmond Valley, Lismore and Clarence Valley would be able to access a further $2,000 for adults and $800 for children through an extension of the Disaster Recovery Payment scheme.
Federal Labor MP Justine Elliot, whose electorate of Richmond includes Tweed, Ballina and Byron, said she was appalled those areas had been left out of the extra payments.
"We have people that have nowhere to live, they have no food and they have no money," she said.
"I'm calling on the Morrison government to urgently extend it to us … I spoke to the Prime Minister this afternoon and I told him it was just horrendous we had been left off.
"I made it very clear how catastrophic this flooding disaster has been for our community."
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said it was fair payments targeted the Lismore area because it was the hardest hit
He dismissed suggestions government-held areas were being favoured as offensive.
"I would not be surprised if there was an immediate concentration on the city of Lismore because there's been, seen by not only the area, but by the nation as the epicentre, almost the ugly icon … of the devastation of this flood," he told 7.30.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the National Recovery and Resilience Agency said it was working with state governments to identify where additional support was required.
"The three LGAs identified as being most impacted takes into account a number of factors including the proportion of the population estimated to be in the flood area, the extent of the flood area, the percentage of the population who have sought assistance through the Disaster Recovery Payment and the number of residential homes that have been rated as moderately or severely damaged, or destroyed," the statement said.
"We continue to review our analysis as further impact data becomes available."
Loading form...
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIyLTAzLTEwL3NvbWUtbnN3LXJlc2lkZW50cy1ub3QtZWxpZ2libGUtZm9yLWZsb29kLWRpc2FzdGVyLXBheW1lbnRzLzEwMDg5NzY5MNIBAA?oc=5
2022-03-09 23:10:26Z
1318198225
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Anger as residents in flooded NSW areas not eligible for disaster payments - ABC News"
Post a Comment