Northern beaches Advocate:
A Natural Disaster Declaration for the Northern Beaches has been accompanied by a ministerial visit.
NSW Minister for Recovery Janelle Saffin joined Pittwater MP Jacqui Scruby to visit Great Mackerel Beach, which recently received 264mm of rain in a single day, resulting in a landslide that destroyed one home and damaged two others.
They were accompanied yesterday (Tuesday, 03 March) by councillors and senior staff from Northern Beaches Council, along with representatives from the NSW State Emergency Service. At Mackerel Beach, they met with local NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) volunteers and residents affected by the landslide.
Sharon Green, whose home was directly impacted by the landslide which started in the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park escarpment above her house, said she was grateful Minister Saffin had come.
“We are incredibly grateful that the Honourable Janelle Saffin took the time to come to Mackerel today to meet us and see for herself what has happened.
“We wish to express our sincere thanks to Jacqui Scruby MP for making this happen. We are hopeful that this may be a step forward as we process the trauma and the long road ahead to recovery,” said Ms Green.
Following the torrential downpour at Great Mackerel Beach, tonnes of mud and rocks slid down from the escarpment above their home in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.
Ms Green and her partner Mick Hardy were inside the home at the time as the landslide slammed into the house, shifting it from its foundations. Fortunately, the couple received only minor injuries but their home was rendered uninhabitable.
Only a week after the incident, Ms Green was volunteering with the RFS at the Australia Day Breakfast at Newport Beach.
After inspecting damage to the Green’s home, Minister Saffin said her role was to coordinate interagency recovery efforts.
“The NSW Reconstruction Authority plays a coordinating role. I’ve got to think about what I heard today, and how can I then do something.
“I said to the residents there is no easy answer to this, but I’m here because I care and I want to see it. My next meeting is with Council and Council came with us.
“We’re grappling with lots of issues with climate change, we have got a Resilience and Hazards SEPP on display now to look at these issues.
“We’ve got the State Disaster Mitigation Plan now, which is legislated. This is all new under the NSW Reconstruction Authority, but they’re things that we’re starting to work on particularly around weather disasters and climate change,” said Minister Saffin.
The Natural Disaster Declaration jointly made today (Wednesday, 04 March) by the Commonwealth and NSW governments activates a suite of support measures for residents, businesses, and councils.
People whose homes have been damaged may be eligible for financial help as well as clean-up, rebuilding and recovery assistance. Government agencies such as councils and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) may also apply for funding assistance for emergency and recovery works.
Pittwater MP Jacqui Scruby said it was important for Minister Saffin to come and see the damage and understand the risks of extreme weather events in Pittwater.
“The first step for me was getting Minister Saffin here, who is the Minister for disaster recovery. She has the ability to advocate with other ministers and agencies.
“The approach we’ve got at the moment is fixing disasters, but there is a whole area around mitigation and resilience.
“We’ve got the Coastal Management Plan, which is imminent, but this is an area that’s been neglected for 20 to 30 years in terms of public policy.
“The Northern Beaches Local Government Area is identified as number one in the State Disaster Mitigation Plan [p63], with forecast average annual losses of $969m by 2060,” said Ms Scruby.
No representatives from NPWS were observed in attendance at yesterday’s ministerial visit.
Dale Cohen