Flood-ravaged Lismore will be home to one of two new emergency bases to be built and staffed as part of a $133m boost to the State Emergency Service at next week’s New South Wales budget.
The extra funding, which will also see upgrades to 18 smaller agency facilities deemed a “critical priority”, was announced by the premier, Dominic Perrottet, in Goonellabah in northern NSW on Monday.
“We want to ensure that the SES has the equipment they need to keep people safe,” he said.
“We need to make sure we build back better in the northern rivers. We know that events will occur in the future, but we can’t make the mistakes of the past.”
The state government, the SES and Bureau of Meteorology came under fire after the deadly February and March floods over communication, resourcing and forecasting issues – which are being examined in an independent probe.
Perrottet said he knew that funding alone was not enough, recounting how he had met someone in Lismore who was still homeless four months after the first event.
“Let’s not hide from the reality here,” he said.
“It’s bloody tough in the northern rivers. There are many people who have gone through a very difficult time and are still going through that.
“I take full responsibility for what happens into the future.”
About 70 jobs would be created with the extra cash, including some in Lismore, where a search is under way for the site for the new base, SES commissioner Carlene York said.
“That will be done very quickly – the identification of the land and moving in,” York said.
“What we really want to do is prepare the communities for when [floods] happen. We want to make sure that we have the right information going out, the right warnings … so that what happened in February and March doesn’t happen again.”
The treasurer, Matt Kean, said Lismore and the northern rivers were on the “frontline” of the impacts of climate change and the government was working to improve the region’s resilience.
“No one can forget the power of the recent floods and what we need to do is change the way we think about how we’re going to address these natural disasters and how we’re going to tackle climate change,” he said.
“This funding goes some way towards making sure that we’re more resilient.”
Nine people died around the state during record-breaking flooding earlier in the year.
The deputy premier, Paul Toole, said the extra money would enable a more targeted and faster response in future emergencies.
“The new facilities and additional staff will help boost the SES’s capability to handle severe weather events,” he said.
The state budget will be handed down on 21 June.
