NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet was touring the devastated town of Eugowra on Friday when he was confronted by an angry flood victim who declared he had had a “gutful” of the lack of support provided after a “tsunami” of floodwater hit the small town.
During a tour of the flood-ravaged town, local resident Peter Jones grilled Mr Perrottet and Deputy Premier Paul Toole over the level of support provided to the area after earlier telling Sky News Australia the government had"completely ignored" the community.
In a stinging rebuke of the government’s flood response, Mr Jones said it had “taken five days to get bloody nowhere” from when waters on the Lachlan River began to rise. “If you’re back in parliament next year, I want a personal date with you in your office or my house, I don’t care where it is,” he continued.“I’ve had a gutful, somebody has to speak up, and the town’s backing me… You’re not going to escape me.”Mr Perrottet conceded there was a “long way to go” to improve the state’s response and recovery and pledged to get “every home back” as he accepted Mr Jones' request for a meeting.
The town of Eugowra is slowly beginning the clean-up after it was inundated with what some residents described as a"tidal wave of biblical proportions" that decimated the small community and leaving dozens of locals homeless. Mr Perrottet passed on his condolences to the family of the woman killed in the floods and stressed authorities were searching for the other two men.
"I... have heard stories of people who went out of their way to save lives. And that wonderful human spirit and instinct that just kicks in to look after each other.
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