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Cold comfort: PM declares national emergency amid local anger over disaster response

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will declare a national emergency in flood-devastated regions in northern NSW, as ADF personnel on the ground are set to double by the end of the week.

Mar 09, 2022, updated Mar 09, 2022
Boats rescue Lismore residents from their homes during the town’s worst recorded floods on February 28, 2022. (Jason O'Brien/AAP)

Boats rescue Lismore residents from their homes during the town’s worst recorded floods on February 28, 2022. (Jason O'Brien/AAP)

After finishing a week in Covid-19 isolation, Mr Morrison will travel to Lismore on Wednesday morning ahead of visiting southeast Queensland on Thursday to inspect flood damage.

Lismore has been among the regional areas devastated by the floods, where four people have died, hundreds displaced and thousands of homes and businesses destroyed.

There is mounting anger in Lismore and other flood-hit towns, where thousands of residents were left to fend for themselves at the height of the disaster.

However, deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce admitted Morrison probably won’t receive a warm welcome from locals during his visit.

“People are incredibly vulnerable, and it’s understandable that they want to express that and the pain that they’re going through,” Mr Joyce told Sky News.

“I would be incredibly surprised if people got a happy reception, because they’re not in a happy place, and they want to be heard.”

The declaration of a national emergency would allow for red tape to be cut between government agencies and allow for resources and support to be deployed faster.

It’s the first time a national emergency has been declared following a natural disaster since the laws passed federal parliament in December 2020.

The national emergency declaration was first proposed as a recommendation following the Black Summer bushfires in 2019/20.

The prime minister is also expected to announce more funding to help rebuild communities, with a focus on long-term reconstruction projects.

“The flooding disaster across south-east Queensland and NSW is absolutely devastating,” Morrison tweeted on Tuesday.

“While the clean-up and recovery is well underway for some, many areas particularly around Lismore remain isolated … and critical supplies being airlifted in.”

There are 1800 ADF personnel on the ground in northern NSW assisting flood recovery efforts, with that number set to grow to 2500 by the end of the day.

Brigadier Robert Lording, who is on the ground in Lismore on Wednesday, told Sydney radio station 2GB that figure would increase to 4000 by week’s end.

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“The scale of this incident has been far bigger than anything we’ve potentially experienced in this area before,” he said.

“It’s a large logistics effort to get people up here, and importantly, it’s a big logistics for us to get the money here and to be able to support them.”

Residents in Lismore and surrounding areas have criticised the government’s handling of the crisis, calling the response too slow to help deal with the clean-up efforts.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the prime minister wanted to see the impact of the floods in northern NSW, despite the frosty reception he could receive from locals.

“I’m sure the prime minister, whether he’s clapped or booed, wants to be there to understand and to be able to fix the catastrophe that’s unfolded,” he told Sky News on Wednesday.

“That’s his job and he’s got to do it whether he’s liked or not.”

There have been issues with physically getting ADF personnel into areas where access was limited or non-existent due to floodwaters and intense weather conditions.

As of Tuesday morning, more than $282 million in disaster payments to flood victims have been paid to 242,000 people.

Of that, $157 million has been paid to victims in NSW and $125 million in Queensland.

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