Meeting summary

At its meeting held on Thursday 12 October, the Community Leaders Forum received an update on the development of the Resilient Land Program.  Several hundred submissions were received following the exhibition of the draft strategy and the NRRC team is working through this feedback.

The NRRC touched on the range of issues that had been identified with many of the identified sites, including enabling infrastructure and planning approvals. Over 300 sites have been considered throughout the process. Due diligence is currently underway on several sites.

The Forum also received an update on demolitions, home recycling and relocation plans. Relocating homes is a top priority and there’s work underway to make relocation an option where it’s feasible. Demolition will be a final resort, and opportunities for recycling and reusing materials from demolished homes are also being investigated.

An update on the appeals process under the Resilient Homes Program was also received.  189 appeals have been submitted and of those, 171 have been considered. Those who were unsuccessful or whose applications required more information are currently being notified.  Community Leaders asked the NRRC to reconsider the viability of people swapping streams from buyback to raising and retrofit.  The NRRC is seeking advice on this, and will talk with local council teams, before reporting back to Community Leaders. 

The ongoing doorknocks were also a topic of discussion.  Doorknocks have now been undertaken in the following regions:

• Woodburn, Coraki and Broadwater – 586 homes were doorknocked and the team engaged with around 300 people.
• Murwillumbah, Condong, Tumbulgum and Chinderah – 553 doors and the team engaged with 189 people.

The doorknock was well received in both locations, and key concerns in these communities were around insurance and grants, with many not realising the assistance available to them via both grants and recovery support services.

The next doorknock will take place in the Byron shire at the end of October.

A discussion around housing was also a key focus for community leaders.  The role of the pod villages as a temporary measure for people to recover from disaster was discussed and the group agreed on the importance of transitioning those in need through the temporary villages into permanent housing solutions. Social housing initiatives were also identified as a priority for the longer term.