Local Nationals MP expects issue to be ‘resolved’ for future rounds of $600m program after record floods
The national disaster recovery and resilience agency has defended its decision to omit Lismore from its priority areas for flood mitigation funding just three months ago, as the city battles record floods.
Applications for round one of the PACP only closed in January, and no grants have yet been announced, so it is unclear if Lismore was awarded funding under the program. The NRRA said priority areas were decided based on their exposure and vulnerability to each disaster type, the infrastructure and resources of each community, and the impacts of climate change. The Australian Climate Service, the NRRA itself, and state and territory governments also had input.
However, the agency admitted there were concerns raised by the Lismore community after its omission from the priority list, and that Stone visited the area with other NRRA representatives in November to meet “a range of stakeholders and residents”.