Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My electorate of Gilmore on the New South Wales South Coast is no stranger to floods. In fact, one of my very first memories as a four -year-old was being evacuated from my family's dairy farm along with community members on the back of a truck into nearby Nowra. Back then I thought it was an adventure, but fast forward half a century and, over the last three-plus years, communities in my electorate have gone through more than 14 declared floods since the bushfires alone. I think it is safe to say that the compounding nature of drought, bushfires, floods and the pandemic has caused an extreme, prolonged fatigue that we have not seen before—flood fatigue, disaster fatigue and recovery fatigue.

We are a resilient lot on the South Coast but even we have our limits on what we can deal with. Fourteen disaster-declared floods, and not every rain event has even been declared a disaster, in a little over three years is about one flood every three or four months. The immediate impact of floods on our community is huge—homes inundated; businesses left to clean up or are ruined; public infrastructure damaged or destroyed; the ongoing strain on livestock; and farmers losing countless stock and watching their paddocks—their livelihoods—turn into soggy grounds and lakes. Every time there is a major flood event, our farmers spring into action, moving their cattle, making sure they are safe and on high ground. It is no easy task but they do it, time and time again.

Damage to cut-off roads is impacting every person who lives in our communities and every single person who visits us. One of the biggest complaints I hear every day from local people is: When are the roads getting fixed? Every time it feels like we have made progress, back we go again with more rain or another flood. This is particularly true for communities who are either completely or partially cut off because of landslides, roads that have either fallen away or are completely covered in debris. The communities of Jamberoo, Kangaroo Valley, Upper Kangaroo River, Burrier, Wattamolla, Woodhill Mountain, Barrengarry, Brogers Creek have been hit particularly hard but, really, the list goes on and on.

All isolated communities, only one road in and one road out for many of them, at times have been completely cut off, sometimes completely, sometimes with restrictions like load limits or residents only, impacting the lives of local people every day. These areas are absolutely beautiful, but, in many places, the terrain is difficult. Much of the land is farmland, but many people have also developed beautiful Airbnbs up there, or they run other sorts of businesses. There are also a lot of people who have decided that this is the place for them to retire and live among the trees. It is idyllic, but it is now proving somewhat difficult; without road access, even simple things become incredibly difficult.

I have visited many of these communities to hear about the daily impact the landslips are having. I regularly speak with those impacted, and their stories are just heartbreaking. You've got farmers who have had to chopper in feed—paid for out of their own pocket—because they didn't know how else they would feed their stock. These communities have been cut off completely for weeks or months at a time. Even once the roads have partially reopened, the load limits are causing some of the biggest headaches for local farmers. Farmers need heavy equipment to come in and out to allow them to operate—feed, livestock, silage equipment; you name it. Most don't have that equipment just sitting on their properties, so they need to bring it in. When they can't, they can't run their farms. One farmer recently told me he was going to have to walk 30 head of cattle across the slip to move them on. That is a very normal and regular practice for farmers. It's making it extremely difficult for residents to get to work, for kids to get to school and for businesses to operate. It's stifling the local economy—not to mention the fact that it keeps tourists away at a time when they have never been needed more.

But it isn't quite that simple. I've been working closely with the local councils on this, but the logistical operation of getting these roads back open is incredibly difficult. The Australian government has provided millions of dollars in assistance to local councils for repair works under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, but, with so much complicated damage spread over such a large area, the councils are struggling to get the technical and physical resources needed. That's not to mention the continuous rain, which continues to cause further landslips and further instability. There is no easy answer. I know that our local councils are taking every step necessary to get these roads open as quickly as possible, and I commend them for that, but I can also understand how the slow progress is frustrating for local people.

Even outside of these communities, the rain is playing havoc with our roads. The Shoalhaven has one of the longest local road networks in the country. The constant rain pummelling our roads has left them in an atrocious state. Potholes the size of sinkholes are everywhere, and local people are sick of it. Every time I speak with anyone, the word 'pothole' never takes too long to creep in. On top of the significant funds that have been provided for immediate recovery under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements and the $1 million that was provided to every flood impacted council back in July, I am doing all I can to support repairs to our roads. I am delighted to have delivered, $40 million to help Shoalhaven City Council with local road repairs as part of the federal budget.

The Australian government has also provided a $250 million top-up to the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, taking the total size of the program to $3.25 billion. I know this will make a huge difference to our local councils. Our councils are working through this; they are doing their best, and I thank them for that hard work. Rather than being an issue of money, it's an issue of resources—that pesky worker shortage that we are experiencing nationwide and that I know the councils are working on too. We will get there.

The businesses in Kangaroo Valley have also suffered through a long period of financial strain because of the indirect impact of the floods. The damaged roads, as I mentioned, kept tourists and customers away for months. The circumstances facing this community were unique. For months I called for a targeted small business support program to address these unique circumstances. Those requests fell on deaf ears under the former government, but I was absolutely thrilled to deliver that support in August with the $1 million Kangaroo Valley road closure small business grant. This was so needed and so welcome. I'm really pleased that a lot of local small businesses benefited from this grant, but I was appalled at the very poor way the New South Wales government administered it, with many local businesses, unfortunately, telling me they had missed out because the process was simply too hard. This just isn't good enough, and I have asked the New South Wales minister to fix this.

I will keep doing everything I can to support this wonderful community. We have a long way to go in our flood recovery. We are also still recovering from the bushfires and the pandemic, but I know we will get there. I will continue working closely across our community and across government to ensure that we are getting the help we deserve.

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