Nearly two years on from the 2022 flood disasters, residents can start applying for buybacks, raising, relocation or flood resilience improvements.
The Central West Resilient Homes package opened for applications online Monday, October 28, with Reconstruction Authority NSW staff to be on the ground to help residents with the process.
The Parkes pop up is Thursday, October 31, at the Cook Park Pavilion between 10am and 1pm, and 2 and 3pm. To make an appointment phone 1800 844 085.
Maps of the areas prioritised for different types of support are now available online, with some parts of Eugowra among those to be eligible for property buybacks.
Areas of Parkes along the Goobang Creek and parts of Trundle as well as Forbes and Eugowra are flagged for resilience measures, which include raising or relocating a home, rebuilding a more resilient home or retrofitting homes with more resilient materials.
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All levels of government gathered in Eugowra on Saturday to announce the opening of applications, with Federal Minister for Emergency Management Senator Jenny McAllister, and State Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib standing with our local State and Federal MPs and the region's mayors.
Senator McAllister said the program was designed to ensure central west communities would be more resilient against future disaster.
"I encourage eligible homeowners to apply for this funding so we can minimise the impacts on homes and families going forward," she said.
There is $40 million in the housing package to be shared across Forbes, Cabonne, Parkes and Lachlan shires, and that is part of $100 million for the region, funded by State and Federal governments.
All the details and applications are online via nsw.gov.au/resilienthomesprogram
The prioritisation maps are based on flood risk information, but the website states other information will also be used to understand risks and inform eligibility. The program will take individual circumstances into account.
TOO LONG COMING
The housing package has been described as "too little, too late" for some residents who have already made repairs almost two years on.
Federal Member for Calare Andrew Gee was there Saturday to welcome the housing package but followed it up with a call for more support.
"We are now two years on from the disaster, and many people have already carried out building work which did not include flood-proofing because this package wasn't available then and it's too late to incorporate it into work now," he said.
"The retrofitting funding is only for flood-proofing works and won't cover more general building work that residents need help with such as painting, flooring, plaster boarding and electricals.
"General rebuilding work like this needs to be included with retrospective claims allowed."
WILL THERE BE MORE?
Community leaders sought assurance ongoing cooperation and further funding would be made available to the community if the $40 million housing package was exhausted.
"We do welcome the commencement of this program, and also encourage both the State and Federal Governments to continue to support from the discussions with our local mayors," Eugowra resident and president of the Progress and Promotion Association Sean Haynes said.
"We do believe that this program will be oversubscribed, and we just ask for their continued support in funding this program to ensure that all of our residents are able to return to their long-term accommodation."
Cabonne Mayor Kevin Beatty said the journey to date had been long and exhausting and it was a great relief to have the funding rolled out.
"I'll just echo Sean's words there, that we really need to have this continuous support from both State-Federal governments to really finish off this whole flood rebuilding," he said.
"There's a lot of work to be done, and this is a fantastic start, and hopefully goes a long way into getting our communities not only back to normality, but in a better position for future events."
NSW Reconstruction Authority CEO Mal Lanyon said part of the community engagement to date had been to understand the demand for the funding.
"With the registrations opening on Monday, we'll get a better idea of the demand for the program, and we'll continue to work with government," he said.
"The scale and complexity of the floods means that the program needs to be designed to actually reflect what the community want.
"We've been really clear to say that we wanted to hear from the community, from the community leaders to make sure that that was reflective and the community were at the centre of the program.
"So it has taken time, and for that now we really want to move forward. That was the reason that today is a really significant step forward. It's now about delivering."
Our State MP Philip Donato, who has chaired the community leaders forum established when the funding was announced earlier this year, said it was not lost on him that it had been almost two years since the flood event.
"I'd like to thank the Reconstruction Authority for the work they've been doing behind the scenes as well to getting it to this stage," he said.
"It's not lost on me ... it's been nearly two years, but we're here now. We're here to announce that the program opens officially on Monday, and it's a terrific announcement to be finally able to do that."
For more information visit the NSW Reconstruction Authority website, with applications opening on Monday 28 October via an online form at nsw.gov.au/resilienthomesprogram
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