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NSW flood victims to receive funding boost
A community centre in Lismore has received a $680,000 funding boost, in a move the NSW Attorney-General said will ensure flood victims will get the help they need as soon as possible.
Lauren Croft
The Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre (NRCLC), located in Lismore, will receive the funding as part of the Commonwealth’s existing package for communities ravaged by recent floods.
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Attorney-General Mark Speakman said the investment would be used to deliver critical legal services to people recovering from the flood crisis in a timely fashion.
“This funding has been allocated by the NSW government from the Commonwealth’s $5.45 million package for existing legal services providing advice to flood affected communities in NSW and Queensland,” he said.
“Many people will require legal help to navigate insurance and property matters after NSW’s recent catastrophic weather events.
“The Northern Rivers requires support for domestic violence, generalist legal, tenancy and social work services. I’m grateful that NSW secured the bulk of the Commonwealth’s $5.45 million funding, at $3.29 million.”
More than 2,600 homes in the Lismore local government area were “significantly damaged” by heavy rain and flash flooding, with over 2,000 becoming uninhabitable. Four people died in the floods, after the Wilsons River reached over 13 metres and overtopped the $21 million levee that was built in 2005 – for the second time in five years.
Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said the injection of funds would help to provide legal services to flood-affected communities.
“The $680,000 will enable several additional full-time staff to relieve NRCLC staff who have been working tirelessly in spite of experiencing flooding which impacted their own homes,” she said.
“This funding will also cover the cost of a van so that NRCLC can provide legal services to wherever they are most needed across the Northern Rivers region.”
Executive director of Community Legal Centres NSW Tim Leach added that the NRCLC office itself sustained extensive damage during the Lismore floods, with significant damage to premises and equipment destroyed.
“The NRCLC covers a large area, stretching all the way up to Tweed Heads. It’s important that the CLC is accessible to the entire community,” he said.
“This funding will enable Northern Rivers CLC to bring on support staff to assist its team as well as acquire a new office space to serve the public from a central location.”
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