The state government maintains it is a federal responsibility to provide relief for the region’s private health businesses,and locals are getting worried.
The fury after the Northern Rivers floods has not been replicated in the central west. “It’s the response we should have had in February,” said one high-profile Lismore local.
After a winter spent living in the bare bones of a gutted house in North Lismore,Brian Burgin wants to follow the sun. Now he’s hopeful an $800 million package will give him the means to do it.
Flooding has left its traumatic mark on Northern Rivers children. Some have had panic attacks for the first time,while others fear for their safety every time it rains heavily. Months on,their resilience keeps them going.
Thousands of residents in Lismore and surrounding areas devastated by floods earlier this year can now choose to have their homes bought back.
The only dedicated medical rescue helicopter in northern NSW is without its base in Lismore because the headquarters has only just been repaired following the previous floods.
“There is not a single part of NSW that I am not concerned about,” said Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke.
The State Emergency Service said the Northern Rivers received significant rainfall overnight into Friday. In one area,222mm fell in three hours.
The devastated city of Lismore is preparing for a third flood of the year as wet weather lashes the state,prompting dozens of flood rescues,including of a four-year-old boy trapped in a vehicle.
GPs and pharmacists in Lismore and the wider Northern Rivers are struggling to rebuild and make ends meet.
An ice-cream factory’s request for an additional $24 million to rebuild has been knocked back. Now 170 workers in flood-ravaged northern NSW fear for their jobs.