Debate resumed from 5 June 2009.

Mr ANTHONY ROBERTS (Lane Cove) [5.15 p.m.]: It is with a great deal of pleasure that I speak to the State Emergency and Rescue Management Amendment Bill 2009. The purpose of this bill is to amend the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989. Its stated purposes are to provide for the appointment of a State Emergency Recovery Controller and a Deputy State Emergency Recovery Controller, to make provision with respect to functions and responsibilities of the State Emergency Recovery Controller, and to provide that the State Emergency Recovery Controller is to be a member of the State Disasters Council and the State Emergency Management Committee. Schedule 1 [1] amends section 3 of the principal Act to include definitions of the term "State Emergency Recovery Controller" and "recovery agency", which is an agency identified in the State Disaster Plan as the agency primarily responsible for controlling the recovery from an emergency.

Schedule 1 [2] amends section 10 of the principal Act to provide that the State Emergency Recovery Controller exercises his or her functions under the principal Act subject to the control and direction of the Minister. Schedule 1 [3] amends section 10 (4) of the principal Act to provide that the Minister may delegate certain functions under the principal Act to the State Emergency Recovery Controller. Schedule 1 [4] amends section 11 of the principal Act to provide that the State Emergency Recovery Controller is to be a member of the State Disasters Council. Schedule 1 [5] amends section 12 of the principal Act to provide that the State Disaster Plan is to specify the responsibilities of the State Emergency Recovery Controller. Schedule 1 [6] amends section 14 of the principal Act to provide that the State Emergency Recovery Controller is to be a member of the State Emergency Management Committee. Schedule 1 [8] inserts proposed subdivision 5 in division 1 of part 2 of the principal Act.

Proposed section 20A provides that the Minister may appoint a senior executive officer, with experience in emergency management, as the State Emergency Recovery Controller, and a senior executive officer or senior officer, with experience in emergency management, as the Deputy State Emergency Recovery Controller, to exercise the functions of the State Emergency Recovery Controller during any absence of, or vacancy in the office of, the State Emergency Recovery Controller. Proposed section 20B makes provision for the responsibilities and functions of the State Emergency Recovery Controller. In particular, the section deals with the following matters: the circumstances in which the State Emergency Recovery Controller is responsible for the recovery from an emergency, the circumstances in which the State Emergency Recovery Controller may assume responsibility for the recovery from an emergency when the State Disaster Plan designates a recovery agency with primary responsibility for controlling the recovery from the emergency, and the authority of the State Emergency Recovery Controller to issue directions to certain agencies and appoint officers to control particular activities of certain agencies, where the State Emergency Recovery Controller is responsible for controlling the recovery from an emergency.

As members in this House are aware, this bill responds to the recent mid-North Coast floods, which resulted in the New South Wales Government declaring up to 14 local government areas as natural disaster areas. Present in the Chamber are two strong rural members who are great supporters of our local State Emergency Services, Rural Fire Services and other organisations—the member for Wagga Wagga and the member for Lismore. They will contribute to the debate on this bill on behalf of the Coalition. On 22 May this year Sydney received reports that mid-North Coast regions had borne the brunt of torrential rain of up to 405 millimetres over 72 hours and winds gusting up to 130 kilometres an hour. Communities in those areas suffered a large amount of distress and personal hardship. I reiterate the wonderful work of our volunteers. On this day more than 308 State Emergency Services volunteers worked on the ground, with members of the Rural Fire Service and New South Wales Fire Brigades assisting. On that day alone the State Emergency Services received more than 1,500 requests for help from the Queensland border to Coffs Harbour. As usual, our wonderful New South Wales volunteers responded magnificently.

The bill attempts to streamline the manner in which emergencies are dealt with. Through the creation of two new statutory positions, the State Emergency Recovery Controller and the Deputy State Emergency Recovery Controller, responsibility will be placed with those officers for emergency response operations in the event that there is no single combat agency with designated responsibility. The State Emergency Recovery Controller [SERCon] also will become a member of the State Disaster Council and the State Emergency Management Committee. The SERCon's primary roles are to create a sustainable emergency recovery capability for New South Wales and to control recovery from an emergency that affects more than one district, or other areas for which he or she assumes responsibility. In essence, with the support of personnel and emergency management New South Wales, the officer will be responsible for planning and preparing for emergency recovery operations.

The shadow Minister for Emergency Services, Melinda Pavey, is doing a magnificent job. The Rural Fire Service Association and State Emergency Service volunteers are very supportive of this initiative. Those organisations do not have many issues with the bill, but they make the point that to date the process has been somewhat disjointed. Hopefully this legislation will address and resolve the issues. I take the opportunity of leading in this debate for the Coalition to commend the wonderful role that the State Emergency Service and Rural Fire Service volunteers play. The Rural Fire Service comprises more than 2,100 volunteer brigades with a very impressive total membership of 17,000 volunteers who provide a large proportion of the service's cooperation and risk management capability. The State Emergency Service is very dedicated to assisting the community and has more than 232 units comprising more than 10,000 volunteers who are located throughout the State.

As a former shadow Minister for Emergency Services, last year I visited the Mid North Coast and the North Coast. I met many wonderful volunteers who give so much of their time and effort. A couple of issues that should be raised as part of the debate are the increases in costs, particularly during the current global financial crisis, of volunteers undertaking their duties. I believe that is an issue that the Government and the Federal Government should address in the future. I make a plea to the Government to ensure that a standard level of equipment is provided to emergency service volunteers, particularly to State Emergency Service personnel. As soon as one leaves Newcastle-Sydney-Wollongong and crosses the Great Dividing Range, one notices the disparate range of equipment available. Having said that, I reiterate that the Coalition will not oppose the bill. The Coalition will support the legislation. Once again, I pay tribute to the men and women who put their lives on the line in times of crisis.

Ms LYLEA McMAHON (Shellharbour—Parliamentary Secretary) [5.23 p.m.]: I support the State Emergency and Rescue Management Amendment Bill 2009. The process of rebuilding, restoring, and returning to normal in the wake of a disaster, such as a major bushfire, a flood, a storm or other catastrophe, is difficult, draining and demanding. This is the case for everyone and everything that is affected—individuals, businesses and communities. It takes enormous financial, emotional and practical support to overcome a disaster. As we have seen for much of this year in the flooded areas in the northern part of the State, the Government provides that much-needed support and assists disaster-struck communities to get back on their feet. The bill gives legislative backing to the Government's work by setting out clearly and directly the clear lines of accountability and responsibility for the State's disaster recovery arrangements. The Government already has demonstrated the effectiveness and efficiency of these arrangements in response to numerous emergencies over the years, the latest being last month's northern New South Wales floods.

As the emergency response wound down, the recovery process was launched to assist the affected communities from the northern border southwards. From a community perspective, the focal point of the process is the establishment of a one-stop-shop recovery centre to provide advice, assistance and support. This was again the case in response to the recent floods, with recovery centres operating at Lismore, Grafton, Kempsey and Coffs Harbour. The Coffs Harbour centre, along with two satellite centres at Urunga and Bellingen, were still working to assist people in need following the 31 March storms and floods on the mid North Coast when the latest floods occurred. After 10 weeks of operations, the Coffs Harbour and satellite centres closed on Friday 12 June, having provided help and information to more than 1,200 victims of the disasters. As said by the Bellingen Shire Mayor, Councillor Mark Troy, who co-chaired the Coffs Coast Recovery Committee, these centres proved invaluable to people in need. The mayor said:

All three operated smoothly from the minute the doors opened and the Committee would like to pass on its thanks to the staff from the wide range of agencies and organisations involved for their hard work.

Councillor Troy's recovery committee co-chair was the Coffs Harbour Mayor, Councillor Keith Rhoades, who also paid tribute to the centres and their staff. He said that the Coffs Harbour Recovery Centre had been called upon to act as an evacuation centre for Grafton residents who also had been forced from their homes by last month's floods. He stated:

The lessons its staff learnt from the March 31 event were put to very good use on that weekend and helped to minimise the distress for all those involved.

The centres are examples of practical, on-the-ground government support for people enduring hardship. Surely this is one of the most important roles of government—providing worthwhile, concrete assistance to help people to get back on their feet after being knocked sideways by an event that is beyond their control. The arrangements outlined in the bill and in the forthcoming amendments to the State Disaster Plan will ensure that that type of assistance is provided in a systematic and cohesive manner to communities who are recovering from disasters and emergencies. The establishment of the State Emergency Recovery Controller to lead this process is a welcome appointment that will guide the recovery process into the future. The appointment of recovery coordinators, such as the former New South Wales Police Force Commissioner, Ken Moroney, to work on a day-to-day basis by helping to clear roadblocks along the road to recovery is yet another practical way of ensuring that help gets through to those who need it, without bureaucratic, logistical and other impediments. I commend the bill to the House.

Mr THOMAS GEORGE (Lismore) [5.27 p.m.]: I support the State Emergency and Rescue Management Amendment Bill 2009. The object of the bill is to amend the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989, which is referred to as the principal Act, to provide for the appointment of a State Emergency Recovery Controller and a Deputy State Emergency Recovery Controller, to make provision with respect to functions and responsibilities of the State Emergency Recovery Controller, and to provide that the State Emergency Recovery Controller will be a member of the State Disasters Council and the State Emergency Management Committee. The bill also makes a consequential amendment to the State Emergency Service Act 1989. I am pleased that the Minister for Emergency Services is at the table because I compliment both the State and Federal governments on their initiative.

On 21 May, Lismore was faced with the prospect of a flood. The Minister for Emergency Services was in Lismore that night. When the flood hit, it certainly devastated parts of south Lismore and north Lismore and proceeded to devastate the lower river areas of my electorate. I note the presence in the Chamber of the member for Clarence, whose electorate also was flood affected. I also note the presence in the Chamber of the member for Tweed. The northern end of my electorate around Murwillumbah also was flooded. I pay particular credit to Ken Moroney, who was coordinator of the region's North Coast Flood Recovery Committee, as well as Heinz Mueller and Stacey Tannos, who were very active in the early stages of the formation of the recovery committee. The committee was chaired by the mayor of Lismore, Mrs Jenny Dowell, who had a lot of involvement in the meetings held at the Richmond Local Area Command. I thank Superintendent Bruce Lyons for his support and all the police who were involved in setting up the recovery centre.

Every government department with an office in or associated with Lismore was represented at the first meeting at the Richmond area command. The support offered by all the government departments in creating the recovery centre was great. Lismore City Council, under the direction of Jenny Dowell, indicated that Isabel Perdriau would be the manager of the centre. The recovery committee got on the job quickly and obtained premises in Conway Street, Lismore, to establish the centre. Once the centre was up and running it received something like 556 personal representations as well as about 170 representations by phone. I am sure the Minister would not mind if I made a couple of suggestions about establishing recovery committees. First, the local member must be personally notified about a committee being established, rather than find out through other avenues.

The office of the local member has handled these processes in the past. While people may be on different sides of the fence politically, during a disaster such as flooding, politics does not come into it. Often times the local member has previous experience of dealing with disasters, and he needs to be there officially. In this case I attended the meeting, during which I indicated that another shire adjoining our shire, Tenterfield shire, was not involved in the original discussions although the flooding had caused the same problems in every coastal shire. I pay tribute to Genevieve Slattery, who is in the Chamber, and thank her for assisting the Minister while he was in Lismore. Once I made representations and brought the matter to the committee's attention, the Tenterfield shire council were soon brought into the national disaster program. I thank the Minister and his staff for quickly bringing the other shires into the process because they had suffered damage from the flooding as well.

This may not directly relate to the bill, but I place on record my concerns about the State Emergency Service [SES] making decisions based on information from the Bureau of Meteorology. The bureau does not have equipment in many coastal areas and up in the hills, although it might have some equipment on the main rivers. A lot of water comes down from Hogarth Range, Rappville and Mummulgum, one side of the Richmond Range and into the lower river area, but the bureau does not have equipment measuring the amount of water falling or coming down the creeks in that area. That creates a big problem for the lower river area because people can only guess the amount of water coming down. The bureau must work out where it does not have appropriate electronic measuring equipment, and it must develop local contacts who can be tapped into by the SES. Most SES workers have their own contacts, but that is not the way it is properly done.

Where there are no proper facilities in place, I call on the Minister to have SES establish local contacts so that it is provided with a broader range of information, including more accurate readings about the expected volume of water coming down into the lower river area. I am sure the SES could establish contact with many local people, and it should be encouraged to do so. I thank the Rural Assistance Authority [RAA] and the natural disaster committee. Many trees in the horticultural industry were blown down and a lot of damage was done by storm and wind. Unfortunately, under the natural disaster arrangement of grants money was available only for flood damage.

However, through the good work of the Minister for Primary Industries, together with the RAA and natural disaster funding, within 24 hours the arrangement was amended to include storm and wind damage. I place on record the appreciation of the horticultural industry for that change, which solved a major problem in many horticultural industries. I place on record another concern. This is the most appropriate debate for me to read a letter dated 4 June 2009 from the General Manager of Lismore City Council, Paul O'Sullivan, regarding disaster emergency funding, which comes under this recovery centre. The letter states:

Dear Thomas

Disaster Emergency FundingDisaster Emergency Funding

Despite previous messages of support for this Council from politicians at all levels, the natural disaster financial assistance system fails the community in one of its most basic elements—emergency cleanups. Any expense incurred by local Councils with its day labour gangs in normal business hours is not claimable, yet that same work undertaken by contractors or by Council workers as overtime is claimable—a ridiculous, costly and inefficient bureaucratic distinction. The relevant Departmental guidelines must be changed.

Lismore City Council has been subjected to this inequitable impasse on four recent occasions:

October 2007 – hailstorm
October 2007 – windstorm
January 2008 – flood
May 2009 – flood

The time to rectify this is well past. It clearly requires a change initiated at the highest political level. It distresses me to raise this issue with your office but Council's previous submissions have produced no results and the local community continues to be the loser. The problem is the unwillingness of the State and Federal bureaucracy to give the Council's case a fair hearing, alternatively the Council's problem is not fully understood.

This is an issue of significance for each and every local authority in this State, and probably the nation, and yet there is a determined lack of Government interest in achieving a commonsense cost efficient outcome.

It is a matter which deserves urgent change based on this Council's experience of four declared natural disaster events in two years and no sensible improvement in sight. Your support is earnestly requested for a meeting with the appropriate Government representatives who will commit to a meaningful change—not a review—a change.

It has been put to me that this objective will require the co-operation of both the State and Federal Governments.

Yours faithfully

Paul G O'Sullivan
General Manager

In summary, if the council uses its own team to undertake clean-up work during business hours it does not get recompensed. However, if a contractor is brought in or council employees undertake the clean-up work after hours, the council is recompensed. This is an ongoing problem for Lismore City Council, and horticultural people on the land face exactly the same problem. I have brought this matter to Mr Moroney's attention. If a landholder clears trees that have blown down on his property he does not get recompensed, although five staff might have done the work. However, if the landholder pays a contractor to do the work he gets recompensed. There is an inequity. I will ensure that the Minister gets a copy of the letter from Lismore City Council. I am sure the mayor of Lismore, Jenny Dowell, has brought it to his attention. I compliment Ken Moroney and everyone involved with the North Coast Flood Recovery Committee in Lismore.

I compliment all those involved, especially workers from all government departments, Isabel Perdriau who ran the operation, and the person from the Coffs Harbour recovery centre whose name escapes me. She was a great help in providing information to local bodies. I note the member for Coffs Harbour is in the Chamber. I thank all workers and volunteers from the State Emergency Service and the Rural Fire Service from all over the State for their quick response to the flood. I appreciate their work. I also thank members of the NSW Police Force, the New South Wales Fire Brigades, the Ambulance Service of NSW, the St Vincent de Paul Society, the Salvation Army, Red Cross and all those who helped. The electorate appreciates their support and efforts to make the recovery run as smoothly as possible during the floods. I also thank their families and employers who gave them the time and support they needed to carry out such duties. It is with great pleasure that I support the bill.

Mr FRANK TERENZINI (Maitland) [5.41 p.m.]: I am confident that the amendments to the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act, as outlined in the State Emergency and Rescue Management Amendment Bill 2009, will have far-reaching benefits for communities in this State that are affected by natural disasters, such as floods, storms, bushfires and other emergencies. I am sure all members of this House will have witnessed firsthand the tremendous work of our emergency services in responding to a crisis, which is often followed by a lengthy and labour-intensive process of rebuilding and restoring a shattered community. The severe storms and floods two years ago in the Hunter Valley and on Central Coast come to mind as an example of the tremendous effort needed to help individuals, communities and economies recover from the impact of a large-scale natural disaster.

More recently, we have again witnessed a similar effort to restore communities in the north of the State affected by severe floods—the member for Lismore comprehensively outlined the extraordinary efforts of emergency service workers in that instance. The severe flooding from the Tweed shire south to Port Macquarie-Hastings and as far west as Glen Innes has caused damage and hardship. The mid North Coast experienced its third flood in May, compounding the damage sustained in the February and April floods. The Government has once more swung its support behind these devastated communities, launching recovery operations to assist those affected even before the floodwaters had begun to recede. A natural disaster was declared in 14 local government areas, four disaster recovery centres began providing support and advice, and the Premier appointed former Police Commissioner Ken Moroney as the Regional Coordinator of recovery operations.
Recovery operations, which work well on the ground, are now being formalised through the amendments to the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act outlined in this bill and the consequential amendments to the State Disaster Plan. The appointment of a State official to take overall responsibility for recovery operations, the State Emergency Recovery Controller or SERCon, is a sensible reform. It formalises what has been happening on an informal basis. It is an overdue and timely statutory appointment. Identifying the leader of these operations in legislation removes the question of who assumes responsibility at a government level once the response operation winds up, and guides the ongoing process to rebuild and restore a damaged community.

As the responsible official, the SERCon will be able to command the resources of government and bring together the various public agencies, industry and private sector bodies, welfare services and any other relevant stakeholders to contribute to the recovery operation. This gap had been identified in our emergency management arrangements. While the responsibilities and arrangements for response operations were clearly defined and documented, the parallel arrangements for the consequential recovery phase were not. This does not mean recovery processes were not in place. The existing arrangements, although previously applied in an informal fashion, work well on the ground. However, formalising this structure in legislation more clearly defines the roles and accountabilities so that recovery operations can now be conducted in a more cohesive, coordinated manner, no matter where a natural disaster or other emergency strikes. One of the most valuable lessons we routinely learn from emergency service operations is the importance of building well resourced and resilient communities.

The emergency service already devotes considerable time and resources to educating communities about the risks they face, and how to prepare and respond in the event of an emergency. One of the greatest achievements of the amendment will be that the SERCon will have a role in preparing communities for impending emergencies. As the member for Maitland, I know it is not a question of if, but when, a flood will occur. The Hunter Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority recently released a book called Maitland, City on the Hunter: Fighting Floods or Living With Them, which outlines the facts and figures of past floods. It includes an emergency service kit and contains real-life stories of people who suffered as a result of the floods, about the lives that were lost and other personal stories. The book is a compulsory read for every new household that moves into Maitland, an area that will continue to have floods.

Maitland's flood mitigation system works exceptionally well; it did so in 2007. However, if there is a repeat of the 1955 flood, the flood mitigation system probably will have a limited capacity to withhold the water and central Maitland will be flooded. We are very proud of the people who put together our flood mitigation system. In the past 10 or 15 years the population of Maitland has grown with new families coming into the area. It is important that they are well educated and understand the realities of living in a flood-prone area. That is why it is important to put steps in place to prepare a community for a flood and to ensure the ongoing preparedness or resilience of that community to withstand that experience. Not long after I was elected to Parliament, we had the June long weekend floods. The member for Lismore comprehensively outlined the effort, sacrifice and commitment of emergency service workers, which never cease to amaze me, whether they are members of the State Emergency Service [SES], the Rural Fire Service [RFS], the NSW Police Force, the Salvation Army, the St John Ambulance or those who man the refuges and put their lives on the line to help others.

I heard stories of people who were not members of the SES or the RFS, but who, on the Saturday night of that June long weekend, left their homes and immediately became honorary members of one of the emergency services for the weekend to help out. It was humbling to watch it occur. It is crucially important to provide resources, and the hardworking Minister for Emergency Services is doing just that by ensuring that our RFS and SES are well equipped. I know they certainly are in Maitland. Last week a new truck was handed over to the Bolwarra RFS. We must coordinate our efforts. We must formally statutorily recognise the new SERCon who will ensure that a formally coordinated recovery operation is in place as quickly as possible so that we can save the lives of people who are at risk. Recovery is important to ensure that people get back to their homes.

Maitland has a long history of flooding, which people new to the area are not used to. In June 2007 they were surprised to learn that Maitland continues to have floods, although it had not had a big flood since the 1970s. I welcome this bill, which formalises an informal arrangement, ensures a coordinated effort, and ensures that people are educated and prepared for flooding. I thank the Minister for putting work into this bill, which I commend to the House.

Mr STEVE CANSDELL (Clarence) [5.49 p.m.]: I support the State Emergency and Rescue Management Amendment Bill 2009. The Opposition often criticises government policy and government actions as being ineffectual—like the budget today, of course—but I really have to commend the Government for finally coordinating rescue and recovery plans to help areas devastated by flood, fire or natural disasters. The object of the bill is to amend the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989, which is the principal Act, to provide for the appointment of a State Emergency Recovery Controller and a Deputy State Emergency Recovery Controller, to make provision with respect to functions and responsibilities of the State Emergency Recovery Controller, and to provide that the State Emergency Recovery Controller is to be a member of the State Disasters Council and the State Emergency Management Committee. The bill also makes consequential amendment to the State Emergency Service Act 1989.

Grafton and the Clarence Valley—the North Coast in general—are flood-prone areas. There have been disasters many times over the 27 years I have lived there. The floodwater in 2001 was much higher than it was in May this year. It took weeks for the rain to come down and the floodwater to rise, whereas the last flood was sudden. The water reached only 7.4 metres—the flood levee wall is actually 8.1 metres—but it looked very dangerous for 24 hours. I commend the Minister and the Premier for their prompt action in declaring a State emergency. I also commend the Premier and the Minister for visiting the area as soon as possible to ensure that everything was okay and to give moral support to the State Emergency Service volunteers who were working around the clock to try to avert a major disaster.

State recovery centres are a great idea because they bring together all agencies—State and Federal. In 2001 I was a member of Grafton City Council; a lot of people came to us for help. They would go to the local State member or Federal member, they would be told to go to one agency and from there they would be directed to another. People would be frustrated to the point where they would give up and go home. They would suffer depression in the aftermath of the devastation, which could involve losing much of their cattle, property and so on. The recovery centre has been fantastic.

As a local member, people come to me as the first port of call and normally I would try to send them where they can get help. Now the recovery centre is just around the corner with workers from the Department of Community Services, Centrelink, Primary Industries, the Department of Commerce, the Environment Protection Authority, the catchment management authority, the Department of Lands and other agencies—and, as always, the Salvation Army is there when people are in need. The Salvation Army counsels people and also helps with food packaging, where necessary. The Salvation Army assists on the emotional side as well as the physical side.

Naturally, the Grafton flood caused trauma for a lot people. It did not reach the height expected, thank God: if it had crossed the levee wall we would have seen devastation the like of which has not been seen for many years on the North Coast. The Grafton flood caused damage not so much in the town itself, or in Maclean or other small villages, but in areas along the riverbank that did not have the flood levee, such as Brushgrove. I am sure that, after a flood, you can see what should have been done. We have to take all these issues into account and be better prepared for the next flood.

In the past, the State Emergency Service has had plenty of time to deliver sandbags where needed, but because of the rapid rise of the river and the urgency elsewhere, Brushgrove was an almost forgotten village. The only sand the village had was in the local playground, but the sand was covered with water and became mud. There were no sand piles anywhere; therefore there were no sandbags. People could not sandbag their houses. Fortunately not a lot of water came through, but it was enough to damage properties. I know that 45 centimetres of water came through the local hotel, which could not find sandbags to sandbag the doors and keep the water out. The tiles lifted and the carpet had to be replaced, but these are things we need to take into account.

The member for Lismore rightly mentioned a couple of areas where the flood recovery centre was opened, but the local State member was not included. People come to us first. We receive the first phone call from people when they need help. We need to be included. The mayor of the town and the council should direct the running of the centre. Mayor Richie Williamson from Clarence Valley Council has done a great job. Council workers have done a fantastic job also. One of my staff is married to a council worker. She would get home from work and he would be packing up to go to work. Council workers worked through the night into the morning. Some 18,000 businesses and residences lost their electricity supply. Council workers were working in adverse and dangerous conditions to restore power to communities. Hats off to them, and hats off to Country Energy, the State Emergency Council and all the volunteer brigades that worked virtually 24 hours a day. Also, a big thankyou to the State Emergency Service volunteers who travelled from other areas of the State to help us. They gave great relief to local workers who were there from the start and who kept working for as long as they could before help turned up.

We were very fortunate to meet with the regional coordinator, Ken Moroney, and also Stacey Tannos, who is the recovery coordinator for New South Wales. Both of those people were very keen to get us involved. They were keen to hear about the problems the flood had caused. One of the problems that came to our attention involved people on private property. There was a chap right on the riverbank at Lawrence, which is at the corner of Sportsmans Creek and the Clarence River, and the westerly was blowing debris onto his property. He ended up with a metre of debris over his property. Friends had to clear a walkway for him to get to his door. Somehow he had to ensure that the debris was moved onto the road before it could be collected. For a pensioner, that was a pretty tough task. I am told that he got some help from the community and he had to pay a few dollars to have some of the rubbish removed to make the yard look half reasonable. Money, unfortunately, was not available.

Another problem involved people on a property out of town whose driveway was washed away. They were told they were not eligible for funding to fix their driveway. The only way they could get into their driveway was by bringing out the old four-wheel drive vehicle. Their cars had to be left at the house or in town because the property was inaccessible in a two-wheel drive vehicle. The flood generated a lot of community support. It has shown that the Government has a heart—

Mr Andrew Fraser: That is not true.

Mr STEVE CANSDELL: The Government had a heart, but it was temporary. It acted promptly and efficiently. Putting together the recovery centre is a credit to the Government and something that we support 100 per cent. I commend the bill to the House.

Mr MATT BROWN (Kiama) [5.58 p.m.]: Madam Acting-Speaker—

Mr Andrew Fraser: Just table it.

ACTING-SPEAKER (Ms Diane Beamer): Order! The member for Kiama has the call.

Mr MATT BROWN: I would happily take on the member for Coffs Harbour's suggestion if he promised to do the same. I support the State Emergency and Rescue Management Amendment Bill. The streamlined arrangements outlined in the bill and the amendments that will be made consequently to the State Disaster Plan certainly will help to ensure the efficient delivery of government services and support in helping communities recover from a natural disaster or other emergency. The Kiama SES group and neighbouring State Emergency Service groups in Shellharbour and around are very active. Their membership is growing and they are certainly very proud of the training and equipment they receive. We have also heard much in this Chamber tonight about the disasters on the North Coast. Although they were in the extreme, we often get very high winds on the South Coast. Our volunteers are quick to get out and help our local communities and, of course, other State Emergency Service communities throughout the State when needed.

The appointment of a State official to take overall responsibility for recovery operations and recovery preparedness is a sensible refinement to the current arrangements, ensuring a cohesive, coordinated process is consistently applied in the wake of an emergency. As all members of this Chamber would agree, the impact of a natural disaster on a community—whether a severe hailstorm, bushfire or flood—should never be underestimated, nor should the complexity of the recovery task. Even stages in the process that would seem to be straightforward, such as repairing damaged buildings and infrastructure, can be complicated by factors such as insurance claim settlements, the availability of tradesmen and building materials, and slowing production cycles in the traditional holiday season.

All of these were factors in the wake of the hailstorm that battered Blacktown and other areas of western Sydney in December 2007. In the event of large-scale devastation such as we saw in the catastrophic 1999 Sydney hailstorm, which damaged more than 20,000 buildings, the recovery challenge also grows exponentially. That unprecedented hailstorm illustrates the need for the disaster recovery arrangements that are now being formalised and streamlined. Infrastructure and logistical expert Bob Leece, who is currently serving as Infrastructure Coordinator General of the New South Wales Nation Building and Jobs Plan Taskforce, was appointed to guide that recovery process, in many ways establishing the model of service delivery that the Government has followed since.

Mr Leece established a central task force to coordinate the recovery effort and thanks to its members' enormous efforts and drive 97 per cent of the recovery work to rebuild south-eastern Sydney was completed in six months. That is a huge credit to Mr Leece and his team. That was a quarter of the time the task was expected to take, an outstanding result by anyone's measure. Mr Leece was again called to coordinate the recovery from the Blacktown hailstorm, working closely with the insurance industry, construction industry, building supplies manufacturers and the community to speed up the pace of repairs to damaged homes. This recovery coordinator role, now formalised under the new arrangements, is an essential conduit between Government, the private sector, welfare services and the community. As other members have noted, this is the role now being so ably filled on the North Coast by Ken Moroney, a former Commissioner of Police.

The recovery process is not necessarily completed once the bricks, tin and tile are replaced. The longer-term economic recovery of essential industries and business sectors also needs to be guided. This can particularly be the case in regional areas, whose economic prosperity is often reliant on their local tourism and primary industries. Bringing together stakeholders from government and the private sector to set in place actions to help industries re-establish and recover is a key role for the State Emergency Recovery Controller and coordinators. In the case of last month's floods, it is clear that many primary producers—including those in the dairy, livestock, horticulture and aquaculture industries—have suffered significant damage. It is important we all learn from this, particularly in rural communities such as the one I represent.

I know government agencies, including the Department of Primary Industries and the Rural Assistance Authority, are working to assist small businesses and rural producers suffering hardship. I also welcome the provision of joint State-Commonwealth grants of up to $15,000 for the small business and primary production sectors. I am sure these are providing welcome relief to the successful applicants. The New South Wales Government is hard at work to support the North Coast community, as it has helped those struck by disaster in the past. I acknowledge the interjection by the member for Coffs Harbour congratulating the Government. That is very nice of him. The reforms in this bill will help ensure that assistance continues to flow in future emergencies. I would also like to put on record how proud I am to see the new Minister for Emergency Services take on his role and the wonderful work he is doing when he is so new to the position. I commend the bill to the House.

Mr GEOFF PROVEST (Tweed) [6.04 p.m.]: The State Emergency and Rescue Management Amendment Bill 2009 amends the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989 to provide for the appointment of a State Emergency Recovery Controller and a Deputy State Emergency Recovery Controller and make provision with respect to the functions and responsibilities of the State Emergency Recovery Controller. As we have heard, informal arrangements have existed before and they have worked rather well. There is a great deal of trading of information as well as a desire to serve the local community. However, in many regards, as previous speakers have said, this tends to formalise the process. One concern I may have, while not opposing this legislation, is that it does not create another layer of bureaucracy and slow down the recovery process. Early indications from my reading of the bill and descriptions of its provisions are that I do not believe that will be the case but I would like to see it in full operation. We were given a briefing recently by Ken Moroney, which was organised by the member for Lismore and attended by many of my North Coast colleagues and the member for Coffs Harbour.

This bill was introduced following the recent floods and windstorms that caused significant damage in the 14 local government areas to which previous speakers have referred. The Tweed was no exception. The Tweed suffered in the May flood and also from high winds. Even though some areas were inundated, the major damage in the Tweed electorate was caused by the wind. Large numbers of trees were blown down and we even lost two of the 100-year-old pine trees that sit atop Point Danger. Luckily they came down in the middle of the night and there was no property damage or human injury. Responsibility for recovery planning and management has been diffused across several organisations and committees with no clear lines of accountability or chains of command. This bill amends the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act to address this issue. I, like many other members, appreciated the Government's quick response to the recent flood and windstorms, and particularly the attendance of the Minister for Emergency Services in various areas.

The SES performs an extremely valuable role, like many other volunteer organisations, particularly in the Tweed. I attended and witnessed many of their operations during the week of intense rain and wind. As I have said here before, it was quite personal for me because my young son was involved in an incident on the Saturday. A number of SES officers were attending an incident on the Tweed River and we nearly lost three boats out to sea and up to 10 SES volunteers. They were a mere 50 to 100 metres from the entrance to the river and at that stage the seas were about four to four-and-a-half metres. There would have been no way of launching any rescue attempts to save them. To this day I believe that on the Sunday we would have been looking for bodies at sea. I was very touched indeed when the Premier rang me on the Sunday to offer his support. My sister-in-law, Tracy Provest, is the principal of Ulladulla High School. She has been a member of the SES for well over 20 years. She came to Ballina to assist, and she also went to the Kempsey and Taree areas.

I talked to a number of volunteers who attended—people from Broken Hill, Nowra, Sydney, and all over the place. At the time I thought it was prudent that many of those services were put into action well before the storm. Flood boats, sandbags and a great deal of other material arrived from Sydney. Clear lines of communication are essential. On many occasions I have attended interdepartmental briefings that were conducted in the morning or in the early evening when representatives from the Department of Community Services, the Department of Commerce, the Ambulance Service, lifesaving organisations, Voluntary Marine Rescue, the police, and other agencies were present. Some of the emergency evacuation centres in the Tweed have been activated but, fortunately, they have been only partly used.

One evening several people from Fingal—the home of the Federal Labor Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot—were evacuated to Kingscliff TAFE. That included the Minister for Ageing. I would like to place on record a number of important issues. Currently, the Tweed is working on its new flood plan, which is soon to be released. I do not want to tip any water onto this bill, but I would like one area to be investigated in the future. I have talked to people in the State Emergency Service who have expressed concern about the amount of urban development, in particular, at Banora Point, which is located near to my office. If people are to be evacuated, to which location should they be taken? Professionals in the field expressed concern about the fact that there is no defined evacuation plan.

Two years ago, in about June or July, a large flood caused a great deal of damage at Banora Point. I am 100 per cent committed to the Tweed, which is a special place. Twenty-seven per cent of the population in the Tweed are over the age of 65, so more people in the Tweed are over the age of 65 than in any of the other 93 electorates in New South Wales. The Tweed is home to a large number of retirement villages and nursing homes.. Many people have expressed concern about the lack of a definitive plan, although investigations are being conducted at the moment to establish an evacuation plan. The Government should conduct further talks with its proactive Queensland Labor Party counterparts who build roads in New South Wales and things of that nature—issues about which I am quite impressed from time to time.

We need greater cross-border coordination. When these arrangements are put in place I hope there is cross-border liaison, as we rely heavily on Queenslanders coming to our aid and, in some cases, we go to their aid. I do not oppose this bill, which I believe to be a positive step forward. However, other issues—such as evacuation plans in times of flood or fire—need to be addressed. I agree with the sentiments expressed earlier by the member for Maitland. The last significant flood in the Tweed was in 1974. It is fairly sobering to drive around the town and to see council-installed signs depicting 1974 flood levels. In times of flood some areas of the Tweed are a metre or two under water. Considering the age of people in the Tweed, flood awareness is important.

My office was inundated with many calls from people who wanted to know whether they should evacuate, where they should go and so on, which was quite sobering. People received alerts from Queensland radio. Every half an hour a siren was sounded, people were warned about different issues, and they were told what steps to take. As I said earlier, I do not oppose this bill but additional emergency issues must be addressed. I am 100 per cent for the Tweed.

Mr GRANT McBRIDE (The Entrance) [6.14 p.m.]: I congratulate the Minister for Emergency Services on introducing the State Emergency and Rescue Management Amendment Bill 2009. I want to talk about my experience of natural disasters on the Central Coast. One thing became clear as a result of my experience—the need for coordination when dealing with these issues. Every flood and fire is different and each accident on the F3 is different. It is not possible to develop a single plan template to be used in all those circumstances; we need a coordinator to deal with these issues. Different organisations will say that they should take leadership because they have special expertise or responsibilities in various areas. However, all those emergency organisations must be brought together under one coordinator to decrease the risk to our community.

This bill will amend the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989, the principal Act, to provide for the appointment of a State Emergency Recovery Controller and for other purposes. The bill aims to improve and to streamline emergency recovery arrangements in New South Wales. The agreement in principle speech notes that the responsibility for recovery planning and management has been diffused across different organisations and committees with no clear lines of accountability or chains of command. This bill will streamline and formalise existing mechanisms for providing government support in times of emergencies by defining a State official who is responsible for emergency recovery. In 1991 we had a flood in Wyong, which is where I live. That flood encroached into my backyard and into my home. A significant portion of the catchment area—some 25 kilometres—was inundated and flood damaged.

I will refer later to a second flood that occurred in the Wyong district. Different characteristics apply to different floods. People think that floods occur only when the water rises, but floods depend on things such as velocity, rain concentration and local effects that change their characteristics. It is naive to suggest that people should respond to a flood in a particular way. We need someone with broad control who can implement the specific action needed to diffuse a particular event. In 1993 I witnessed a fire line from the forests of Cessnock all the way down to the Hawkesbury River. I had the amazing experience of going up in a helicopter and looking at that fire line. That Central Coast fire line, which was depicted by one continuous line all the way from the Hunter down to the Hawkesbury River, was about 160 kilometres in length.

Imagine the coordination associated with an emergency of that nature over such a great distance! The fire line did not encompass only a number of suburbs; it encompassed an area of 160 kilometres. In 1993 a fire such as that was well beyond the capacity of the Rural Fire Service to manage and control, as there were still local and autonomous commands. At that time the Rural Fire Service fitted out its own vehicles, according to its designs. One fire unit would go in to manage the fire and when that unit had to be replaced it involved the first unit coming out and the second unit going in, as the fit-out of the trucks was not standardised. The Rural Fire Service was a local and parochial type of organisation that was capable of dealing with small incidents that fell within its bailiwick. However, it was not able to deal with a major event beyond the experience of all those associated with it.

Such was the intensity of that event that people came from Victoria. Victoria had experienced the Ash Wednesday fires and as a result had changed the organisation and structure of its rural fire service to a coordinated system to fight fires. Victoria's system can deal with any event. As we have seen with fires this year, the intensity of events has been beyond people's experience. Victoria has experienced five fires of such dimension in the last century. It is not a unique experience. From that I have learned about the enormous spontaneous action required to coordinate response to a fire line of over 160 kilometres. What happened on the 2007 Queen's birthday holiday weekend? The Wyong catchment again suffered flooding. Last time it was an inundation flood, which, fundamentally, means that the water comes down the river and the water level just rises as it does when one runs a bath.

Mr Kerry Hickey: Really?

Mr GRANT McBRIDE: Yes, that is right. It is not as threatening because of the low velocity of the flow and it is easier to manage than the flooding that occurred in 2007. In 2007 areas that should not have succumbed to flooding did flood. They flooded because of the storm intensity that started in the ocean at Soldiers Point and then travelled diagonally in a south-westerly direction down into the area including Chittaway Bay. Chittaway Bay normally would experience inundation flooding, but on this occasion it suffered a catchment flood with an enormous amount of water in the area. Again this event was outside the experience of those who would normally deal with these issues. They had to interpret the response from a different direction.

[Interruption]

Mr Steve Whan: It is not question time.

Mr GRANT McBRIDE: We will answer questions later. My colleague opposite from Port Stephens understands what I am talking about. Another fire we experienced—

Mr Andrew Fraser: Weren't we just on floods?

Mr GRANT McBRIDE: We are talking about emergencies. We had the 2005 New Year's Eve fires. Again the fire came from the forests on the bottom end of the peninsula, as we call it, up to the houses. Fortunately, a southerly change came and—bang!—the fire went the other way. The interesting issue was evacuating people because the roads were cut off in both directions. An aquatic evacuation was carried out, which involved many elderly people. As pointed out by the member for Tweed, how do we move people of limited mobility in emergency situations? Again they were taken to the local club for accommodation, food and all sorts of enormous issues involved in that evacuation process. The logistics involved in these Central Coast events spread across a range of emergency services, but also included issues requiring the response of the Department of Community Services and other State government organisations. In the 1991 fires the entire Central Coast was cut off from Sydney, and almost cut off also from Newcastle. The region was surrounded by fire on the western side and by ocean on the eastern side. We had to accommodate thousands of people for two nights on the Central Coast.

Mr Andrew Fraser: Name them!

Mr GRANT McBRIDE: The whole thousand of them? I am happy to do that, I just need those extra pages and an extension of time of perhaps another 20 minutes! On that particular occasion high-level logistics were required to deal with these large-scale situations. When I moved to the Central Coast the last thing I thought was that we were moving to a place that suffered fires and floods. I should point out that in 1991 we were flooded for four days. We were living on the top of our house and we had a boat tied to a rail below, just like the horses in western movies. This bill is an overdue restructure that will make an enormous difference to managing these incidents.

Expertise is required to deal with these incidents and we need to be able to drag different organisations together. I am sure my colleague from Coffs Harbour has been to the operations rooms during these events—I am sure he has one such room in his electorate. Gosford City Council, Wyong Council and the fire department have an operations room. Coordination is needed to reduce the risk of loss of life and damage to our local community, and also to mop up after the event speedily and in the best interests of our local community. I commend the Minister for introducing this bill. It will make a great difference to our community in managing these particular issues. The bill is well overdue. I congratulate the Minister on bringing this bill forward.

Mr ANDREW FRASER (Coffs Harbour) [6.25 p.m.]: I strongly support the State Emergency and Rescue Management Amendment Bill 2009. As my colleagues have done, I too shall refer to problems in my electorate. I refer to the 1996 storm event in Coffs Harbour. Basically my office operated as a recovery centre. There was no coordination. Something like 15 inches of water ran through the office. If all our records were not destroyed, they were absolutely saturated. It was an horrendous experience not only for my staff but also for Coffs Harbour residents. This year the Coffs Harbour electorate has experienced three incidents: the storm event in Bellingen and Coffs Harbour in February, which was declared a natural disaster; another on 31 March, which was probably the worst of the three; and one event again in May. Before I proceed, I should state that every member of this House should be thankful for the State Emergency Services, the Rural Fire Service, the Fire Brigades, NSW Police, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and all the other organisations that pitch in and selflessly give of their time and, as the member for Tweed so rightly recognised, put their lives at risk.

His young son and a flood bay crew in the Tweed were nearly lost during the recovery effort in that region. I place on record my personal thanks to Merv Rose from Urunga, controller of Urunga State Emergency Services, Toby Cuthell from Bellingen and Bob White from Coffs Harbour, whom I have mentioned in the House before—the Minister has met two of them, if not the three of them. I thank also their volunteers and those from other areas who assisted in the Coffs Harbour electorate during these difficult times. I commend also the Coffs Harbour local area commander, Superintendent Mark Houlihan, who did a phenomenal job in chairing the Local Emergency Operations Controller committee before the recovery centre was set up. All reports on the initial event in March complimented him on the great work he did and the level head he kept to ensure that the unfolding disaster was handled responsibly.

I also give an absolute rap to Rachel Squires—I could not recall her name when the member for Lismore referred to her earlier. Rachel is a young lady of brilliant talent. She was phenomenal in coordinating the setting up of the first recovery centres under the proposed legislation before it came to this House. Coffs Harbour experienced one of the first events, and Rachel did a phenomenal job. The way she pulled together the recovery centres in Coffs Harbour, Bellingen and Urunga was amazing. As the Minister knows from the two visits he made to Bellingen, the area was hit extremely hard, yet it had the lowest numbers of reports of people needing assistance—probably because the people have been flooded so many times, they have set up their own system.

The Urunga and Coffs Harbour residential areas were very greatly affected, and the recovery centres worked a treat. I cannot praise enough the people who were involved in setting up those centres. I also state for the record my great appreciation of the Country Energy staff. They provided a supply of electricity to our communities and they were working in extremely dangerous conditions. They were flown into flooded areas, walked the lines to find breaks, and flew in generators and fuel for the Bellingen hospital. One cannot give too much praise to Country Energy staff for their efforts. I personally thank them.

The member for Lismore suggested that local members should be members of a recovery committee. I thank Mark Houlihan, Coffs Harbour City Council General Manager Steve Sawtell, the Mayor of Coffs Harbour, the Mayor of Bellingen, the Minister for Emergency Services and the Premier for inviting me to be part of the recovery committee as an ex officio member. The recovery committee is still operating. My electorate secretary goes to every meeting and reports on progress that has occurred, and I receive minutes of the committee meetings. In any debate on whether a local parliamentary representative should be a member of a recovery committee or an ex officio member of a committee, I would have to agree with the member for Lismore.

Local parliamentary representatives are in the front line. I was able to take a number of issues to the recovery committee and have them resolved instead of chasing individual government departments. Some of the issues involved bales of hay that had been washed into caravan parks, dead cattle that had been washed onto private property, and bridges that had been washed away. As local parliamentary members, we are usually the first port of call when people need assistance. In a spirit of bipartisanship, I strongly suggest to the Government that along with the Premier, the Minister and mayors of local authorities, local members of Parliament should be invited to participate in the work of the recovery committees. As I have already pointed out, my electorate secretary continues to attend recovery committee meetings in my electorate.

I thank my electorate office staff because, as the Minister indicated earlier, my electorate office once again was inundated by floodwaters, albeit not as badly as during previous times. My staff worked under pretty trying conditions. The latest edition of Assembly Lines has photographs that show some of the conditions they endured. I offer a big thankyou to Ms Diane Leahy, to my senior electorate officer, Campbell Forsyth, and to Deb Maguire, who is a permanent temporary member of my staff. I also thank my family and friends who gave assistance to get my electorate office up and running again so that we could provide a service to the people of the Coffs Harbour electorate.

I ask the Minister to take the issue I am about to mention in the bipartisan spirit in which it is said. The council clean-up was mentioned by the member for Lismore. Coffs Harbour received hundreds of tonnes of rubbish that had been washed down from the Coffs Harbour and Bellingen shires, and all that debris had to be removed. I ask Government members opposite me to chat somewhere else.

Mr Kerry Hickey: It was all right when you were doing it.

Mr ANDREW FRASER: I do not mind an interjection, but if members want to chat, they should do so outside.

Mr Grant McBride: When did you become sensitive?

Mr ANDREW FRASER: I am trying to praise people in my electorate and draw attention to issues that need to be addressed. I am sure that members opposite would be interested in what I am saying, if they cared to listen. The council clean-up costs are covered only if the clean-up is carried out under a contract. The reality is that there is an extra cost burden on councils through the operation of their waste stations and otherwise when they are engaged in the removal of hundreds of tonnes of rubbish and debris. The rubbish had to be cleaned up because it was a health issue, and that is extremely important. The Government should standardise what is deemed to be the accepted responsibility of governments. The Federal Government also becomes involved when a disaster reaches a certain level. Accepted responsibilities should be designated during times of flood and clear direction should be given to recovery committees. The Government should create a standardised system of repairs and restoration.

I have twice raised this issue in the House. When Coffs Harbour was flooded the first time on 31 March, the Minister was good enough to take me to the area in his jet. That morning I raised the issue of responsibility for Crown roads and roads that are not normally covered by disaster relief. I have raised the situation experienced in Coffs Harbour with Stacey Tannos, whom I commend. I also commend Heinz Mueller for the great job he has done. We discussed a creek that had washed out Joyce Street in Coffs Harbour and took out a fair proportion of a property owned by one of my constituents, Mr Paul Craig. We resolved that the damages should be repaired under the State emergency disaster recovery plan. However, the latest information I have is that that damage was not covered.

I mentioned this recently to Stacey and, in Stacey's usual manner, he said that it had been organised and administered. Since then the council has been told that the State will not repair the damage. It is Crown reserve land that is under the council's control. The reality is that the council cannot afford to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair a Crown road. The issue probably goes further than simply Crown roads and creeks, as I have mentioned in the House on previous occasions. Catchment management authorities do not have the money to fix damage of that magnitude. Storms and floods create huge financial imposts on catchment management authorities as well as councils. For those reasons, the Government should give serious consideration to standardised arrangements for disaster repair work that needs to be carried out to creeks and Crown roads after floods. Currently the repairs are a great impost on local communities and councils. We also need to standardise assistance given to farmers and businesses. I note that recently when I raised this issue, the Minister gave me a wry smile, but he would not admit anything.

Mr Steve Whan: I was smiling about our achievements.

Mr ANDREW FRASER: It was an achievement. I thank the Minister and the Premier for responding to my correspondence by giving grants to farmers and small businesses, but a way must be found to ensure that the grants are made automatically. The Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Tony Burke, said to me at the Coffs Harbour show that a flood in North Queensland is different from a flood in the Bellingen and Coffs Harbour area, but I said that it would not matter whether a house is inundated by 30 centimetres of water for six minutes or six weeks because it will still ruin carpets and furniture. We need a standardised arrangement for assessing and repairing flood damage, especially as winter is not far away.

This year the Bellingen Valley experienced three floods. Pastures have been ruined. Money that was made available to assist recovery from the previous two events was greatly appreciated, but I implore the Minister to continue his efforts to obtain Federal Government support to provide financial assistance to those who suffered during the February event, especially oyster farmers. I spoke to Tony Donohue last night. He applied for a loan for $130,000 interest-free over two years to get him back on his feet. His application has been knocked back. The damage occurred in March and he was notified of refusal of the loan only last week. I will provide the Minister with details of the loan because Tony Donohue faxed them to me last night.

The reality is that, if Tony is lucky, he will receive only a $30,000 grant. He needs funds. The Rural Assistance Authority [RAA] told him that his oyster farm is not viable, despite the fact he has been operating the business for 18 years. Over the past six to 18 months, two rivers have been closed periodically as a result of disease. Tony Donohue will be able to survive if he can arrange for a short-term interest-free loan over two years, yet he will have to undertake a number of processes, with the result that he may not receive a response to his application until August. He has suffered flood events in February, March and May. [Extension of time agreed to.]

The Government really must streamline the financial assistance process of the Rural Assistance Authority.. Difficulties have been experienced since the Coalition was last in government. People do not receive Rural Assistance Authority loans in the manner they should receive them. When Mr Donohue phoned an officer to appeal against the decision—her name escapes me for the moment, but I will provide it to the Minister—she told him she could not talk to him because she would be assessing his appeal. She had assessed his application and had knocked that back. That is appalling. These small businesses pump hundreds of thousands of dollars into local communities and provide magnificent rock oysters to the Sydney market. The process should be streamlined from the point of view of enabling people in need to access funds.

A banana grower, Mr Singh-Sidhu, was told that although he had suffered damage to his property, he could not access a loan because his equity in the property was too great. That is bizarre. People who have suffered as a result of an event that has been declared a disaster by the State Government should be able to access loans more easily than has been the case in the past, and the way applications are being assessed currently is simply not good enough. As I said, the Coalition supports this legislation. However, if the Government can push some of the assessment back to recovery committees or standardise the assistance that can be given so that recovery committees can advise farmers, shopkeepers and residents at the time the disaster is declared, people will no longer be living in angst, as many of my constituents are at the moment. I have belted the insurance companies over their lack of observation on this. I did that in 1996, and the NRMA eventually paid. At the end of the day we need a standardised form to ensure that all the concerns raised are addressed.

The work done by the government departments—from the Department of Primary Industries to the Health Department, the Department of Housing, the Catchment Management Authority, the Department of Community Services, the Department of State and Regional Development, the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation, you name it, and by the quasi government departments that attended the recovery centres—was phenomenal. At one stage we were meeting three times a week; then we cut it back to twice a week, and now it is once a fortnight or once every three weeks as the recovery process continues. Again, I thank the Minister for showing interest in the disasters in the Coffs Harbour electorate. The Minister came to Coffs Harbour on one fine day—I think he might have had other family engagements as well—and handed over some fire engines.

We would like to welcome the Minister back in good times and show our appreciation as a community for the Minister taking notice. Although the Minister claimed that the $15,000 was his idea, I will forgive him for that because the cash is flowing. I refer the Minister to my correspondence and our discussions. I appreciate that the Minister showed compassion to the people there. He thanked the troops under his command as Minister, and they appreciated that. When they know a government, their local member, and the council are behind them, and the recovery committee is coordinating these efforts, it is a great relief to the communities and volunteers. If I have missed anyone in all this, I apologise. I probably have missed out someone, but I commend the volunteers for their phenomenal job.

Mr PETER DEBNAM (Vaucluse) [6.42 p.m.]: I acknowledge the comments made, especially those by Coalition members whose electorates suffered these traumas in recent months. There is clear consensus on acknowledging the Minister's efforts in dealing with community concerns, and I congratulate him as well. Several times during those few months I was in a position to see the devastation. It is good that the State Emergency Service was on its feet again and helping wherever it could. Not only during floods but time and time again we see the SES helping with community events or dealing with disasters. The Waverley-Woollahra SES does a fantastic job in my area. Most recently it helped with the collapse of Victoria Road in Bellevue Hill, thanks to Sydney Water, which created the hole. The council and the SES managed the situation after that disaster.

If the Minister has not visited the Waverley-Woollahra SES I ask him to schedule a visit because it is in the process of negotiating through the bureaucracy a much better site for its depot. I am sure it would welcome a visit by the Minister and would appreciate a bit of a hand in working through the bureaucracy to establish a more viable site for its depot. I congratulate the SES on its continual work, day after day, week after week, and I also congratulate the Minister on his efforts during the recent floods.

Mr STEVE WHAN (Monaro—Minister for Emergency Services, and Minister for Small Business) [6.43 p.m.], in reply: I thank members for their contributions to the debate. I will go through some of the issues raised shortly. Unfortunately I missed a little of what the member for Vaucluse said, but I will check the issue he raised and follow it up. This bill is an important change to improve and streamline the emergency recovery arrangements of the State Emergency and Rescue Act. It is particularly timely. As we heard from most members who spoke, many members who represent North Coast areas and the areas that were flooded, the flood was a big challenge. It provided an opportunity to show how this change to the Act can work successfully in practice. Northern New South Wales continues to count the cost of the recent flooding, which caused widespread damage and hardship throughout the region.

I endorse all the comments made by members on both sides of the House in congratulating and thanking all the people involved. Members would be aware that former New South Wales police commissioner Ken Moroney led recovery efforts on the North Coast as our coordinator. I congratulate Mr Moroney on his efforts and the tremendous job he did to assist flood victims. Mr Moroney is held in high esteem by everyone in the State after his decades of services to NSW Police. Having him in charge of the effort was welcomed by everybody and proved to be, and is still proving to be, a positive coordinating point as the process continues. Through Mr Moroney and the efforts of the recovery team, the Government established four disaster recovery centres—they have been mentioned extensively by members—at Lismore, Grafton, Kempsey and Coffs Harbour. They provided people with one-stop shops for advice, support and assistance, and did so with great goodwill from everybody involved.

When I attended the opening of the centre in Grafton I was impressed by the spirit of every person who was there to greet people as they came through the door. They sensed when people were upset and needed personal support. One person who arrived while the opening was in progress was quickly rushed through the crowd and assisted so that they did not have to cope with the politicians and others who were present. A range of things showed the sensitivity of the people working in the centres, and I thank them for that. The centres were staffed by a range of government agencies, councils and welfare services whose staff did a terrific job of providing residents, business people, primary producers and others with advice and much-needed emotional support.

As we witnessed in the State's north, the process of helping a community to recover from a devastating natural disaster such as a flood, storm, bushfire or other emergency requires a sustained and coordinated effort. While the recovery process may begin at the same time as a response operation, it will inevitably finish some time after the response operation ceases. The recovery process is not just about physical rebuilding; it is also about assisting local industries such as tourism, small business and primary production to get back on their feet, thereby helping the wider region. The State's emergency response arrangements and responsibilities are longstanding, well understood and documented in detail in the State disaster plan and its supporting sub-plans. However, previously there were no guidelines or assigned responsibilities for the recovery processes.

Responsibility for recovery planning and management has been diffused across different organisations and committees, and this bill will fix that. The appointment of a State emergency recovery controller will bring together relevant government agencies and organisations to ensure that necessary services and assistance are provided in a coordinated and timely manner. Stacey Tannos, who has been mentioned by a number of speakers and thanked for his work on the North Coast, is the first State Emergency Recover Controller. The work that he and his office have done and the mentions he has received today show that he will do an effective job.

The member for Lane Cove indicated that the Opposition will be supporting the bill. The Government appreciates that support and his positive comments about volunteers. The member for Shellharbour supports the bill. She represents an area with active State Emergency Service and Rural Fire Service units, and she is a strong supporter of those units. I thank the member for Lismore for his compliments for the work done by Ken Moroney, Heinz Mueller, Stacey Tannos, the local mayor Jenny Dowell and the various other SES people who were actively involved.

Mr Thomas George: And Genevieve.

Mr STEVE WHAN: And Genevieve from my office. When I was in Lismore that night I was interested in the many decisions that had to be made about where to evacuate and what steps needed to be taken. I take on board the comments of the member for Lismore about the State Emergency Service's decisions being based on Bureau of Meteorology forecasts. I saw for myself the importance of local knowledge in making some of those tough decisions. It is not easy for a State Emergency Service controller to order an evacuation. I saw how much consideration went into that process. Obviously, if an evacuation is called for but the water does not reach predicted levels, critics will suggest that people went to a lot of trouble for no apparent reason.

I watched the processes that evening and heard the debate about the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts by State Emergency Service representatives on the ground. They had listened to people who had local knowledge of the rivers, they had seen the levels, and they had worked out their own models of how the river had peaked in the past. They knew what the peaks were and how those peaks had occurred, and they discussed that directly with the Bureau of Meteorology. The predictions of the bureau changed during the evening, based on information coming in from its own monitoring stations. That process was healthy and thorough. I take on board the comments of the member for Lismore that science is not exact and local knowledge needs to be used. I encourage the continuation of that process.

Recently in question time I referred to a call being made at Lismore. The water stopped only 20 centimetres short of the top of the levee bank: it had risen more than 10 metres. Anybody who could make an exact call after such a rise in the water level is very brave. The decisions made at the time were right, as endorsed by the Premier the next day, when he said it is better to be safe than sorry in those circumstances. I think some very sensible decisions were made. I, and the Government, endorse the comments of the member for Lismore in thanking a number of locals, the names of whom I will not repeat. The member for Maitland referred to the history of flooding in Maitland and expressed his appreciation of the work done by local volunteers. When I visited the various flood events on the North Coast I saw that locals who have resided in the area for a long time were quite well prepared, but new settlers need to be educated about how to prepare for floods and what to expect, as was highlighted by the member for Maitland.

The member for Clarence talked about the State recovery centres being a great idea, which I also endorse. Several members spoke about the need for information to flow to local members and for inclusion of local State members in these processes. I give an assurance that local members are given formal notification of and information about what is happening. We appreciate that all members, regardless of their political persuasion, play a very important role in disasters by backing their community and being an information point. I know that volunteers and many other people appreciate their local members being around to thank them for their efforts during an emergency. The member for Clarence also made a quick squib at the start of his contribution about today's budget. I point out that today's budget has again given record funding for emergency services, which I and the Government are very proud of.

We will continue to ensure that our emergency services have the best possible equipment through record levels of funding. Particularly important are the new funding arrangements for the State Emergency Service which will bring it into line with the Rural Fire Service and ensure reliable funding for years to come. The member for Kiama complimented the Kiama State Emergency Service units. I appreciate his support for those units and I know he has been to a number of their events over the years. We heard about the involvement of the son of the member for Tweed. All members are very pleased that his son has recovered and that the incident on the Tweed River was not worse than it was. He highlighted that his sister-in-law had come up from Ulladulla, and it is worth making the point that people travelled from all over the State to help out. I know that the communities were very grateful for the efforts of those volunteers. Crews from Queanbeyan, where I live, and from Yass and other areas travelled to the North Coast days before the emergency to prepare, and their efforts are very much appreciated.

A number of members expressed their thanks to the volunteers, and we also thank their employers who let them go. The member for Tweed raised important and valid concerns about urban development planning and about how people are evacuated, and we need to keep an eye on those issues. Much of the development happened a long time ago and we need to continue to work to ensure that people, particularly the elderly in aged care facilities, can be safely evacuated. Tweed Shire Council is working on flood plain management plans. My office has received representations from the former Administrator, Max Boyd. I encourage Tweed residents to have input into the flood plain management plan because some issues to which the member for Tweed referred need to be addressed.

The member for The Entrance outlined different types of emergency events. The member for Coffs Harbour also spoke of his experience during the three events in his electorate. He and I travelled to one of those events; he stayed in the area to continue to liaise with emergency services, and that was much appreciated. He was right to thank other groups, such as Country Energy staff, who did a terrific job when 18,000 or more people were not connected to electricity. I take on board the comments of members about the costs of council clean-ups being part of national arrangements.

I am happy to follow up the issues raised by the member for Coffs Harbour about oyster farmers and about a low-interest loan from the Rural Assistance Authority being rejected. I will take up those matters once I obtain the necessary details. I thank all members for their contributions. Most importantly, I thank the volunteers from all the emergency and recovery agencies, who are out there doing a wonderful job. These new arrangements will be very effective. I commend the bill to the House.

Question—That this bill be now agreed to in principle—put and resolved in the affirmative.

Motion agreed to.

Bill agreed to in principle.


Bill declared passed and transmitted to the Legislative Council with a message seeking its concurrence in the bill.

ACTING-SPEAKER (Mr Wayne Merton): Order! It being just before 7.00 p.m., the House will now proceed to the matter of public importance.