Latest news with #cleanUp
ABC News
20 hours ago
- Business
- ABC News
Gold Coast residents slugged one-off $10 payment in rates for cyclone clean-up
Gold Coast ratepayers will help foot the $50 million clean-up bill from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred with households charged a one-off $10 levy in the city's budget that was handed down today. It is on top of a general rate increase of 2.7 per cent for owner occupiers which Mayor Tom Tate pegged to Brisbane's inflation figures for the March quarter. The controversial "view tax" on high rise apartments will remain and properties registered as short-term rentals like Airbnb will continue to be pay a premium. The Gold Coast City Council is the country's second largest local government, with a budget of $2.678 billion, an increase of $215 million from last financial year. A record $1 billion dollars will be spent on capital works, with heavy investment in transport and infrastructure in preparation for next decade's Olympics. The city's disaster and emergency management funding increased to $39 million following two major natural disasters in the past 18 months — the 2023 Christmas Day storms which ripped through the region's hinterland and March's cyclone. The mayor said it could take three years before the beaches returned to their former glory. "It's about having the funds build up for future resilience. We don't know what Mother Nature's going to hit us up with so that money will be really for recovery and resilience," he said. "If it means we're going to need more halls and evacuation centres out west, that's what it's going to go to." Previously announced funding of $15 million for the design and business case for Light Rail Stage 4, extending the tram from Burleigh to Coolangatta airport, remains in the budget. But the mayor expressed his frustration that the state government was dragging its feet. "Transport infrastructure is the number one project. Without it, my prediction is that it will be gridlocked down south." Savings were found through job cuts at council but the mayor refused to say how many roles were lost. Deputy Mayor Mark Hammel said the council was using artificial intelligence to reduce operational costs. Despite lobbying from some councillors, Cr Tate also kept in place the 10 per cent early payment discount for rates. "It's been in place on the Gold Coast for the past 40 years and for future mayors, if they want to remove this, I think they take it to an election like I did," Cr Tate said. Hinterland councillor Glen Tozer was the only one to speak against the budget, citing his opposition to money earmarked for a commercial feasibility study in the controversial Springbrook cableway. He said the national park risked being stripped of its World Heritage listing if the project went ahead. "I have grave reservations about the environmental credentials," he said. "I'm not convinced it can be delivered in line with a commitment to a strict environmental assessment."
ABC News
28-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Can farmers endure repeated floods and drought?
Josh Hack: Early on in the piece, we were sort of a bit worried. There was some reports from private forecasters saying, you know, 600 odd mils and there wasn't many models showing that, but the Bureau of Meteorology wasn't really showing anything until we got to the weekend before, sort of two to three days before. But once we sort of got to that one or two days out, we knew that we were going to get some decent rainfalls and we were going to get floods. And the time this river stayed up is just phenomenal. Like, 2021 hit that peak and it was coming up and then going down within two to three hours. This stayed up 30 hours above the 2021 flood. And you've got animals. So if they did seek refuge, you know, trying to stand in water and trying to hit that refuge for that amount of time is pretty draining on them. Sam Hawley: When it looked like heavy rain was on its way, Taree Farmer, Josh Hack, knew he had to act and he was right to predict the worst. Like so many others, Josh is now facing the clean-up from the record-breaking floods that devastated large parts of the New South Wales Mid North Coast and Hunter regions. Today, we consider the plight of Australia's farmers like Josh, but also those further south, fighting their way through severe drought and ask the question, is Australia really still fit for farming? I'm Sam Hawley on Gadigal land in Sydney. This is ABC News Daily. News report: In communities right along the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, clean-up efforts are in full swing. News report: More than 700 homes and businesses have been declared uninhabitable so far, but authorities are warning that number will rise. Flood victim: It's diabolical, to be honest. There's certainly farms who have had most, if not all, their herd washed into the ocean. Flood victim: We actually never, ever thought that it would reach that magnitude, especially where we are. Flood victim: People are just traumatised, and some of them have been through it before. And to be back here again, it's just unbelievable. Josh Hack: My name's Josh Hack. We have some beef cattle in the Manning Valley, but we're also contract drone pilots and also do agronomy on farms as well for clients. Sam Hawley: Sounds like you're out and about at the moment. Josh Hack: Yeah, mate, yeah. So we're just trying to move some of our stock off Dumeric Island, which has been hit pretty hard. And I've been lucky. I've sort of only lost a handful there, but a lot of people have lost hundreds. So, yeah, the preparation for me has really paid off. But, look, you know, no-one could really prepare for a 1 in 500-year flood. Sam Hawley: Oh, gosh. OK, yeah. Just tell me what it's been like over the past week for you. What did you have to do to save your stock? Josh Hack: OK, so we're at about 200 head. We moved about 40 of them with trucks and stuff, and the rest of them we just made sure we, you know, hold those cattle down into the lower areas until sort of the day or two before and then moved them to the higher paddocks as possible because we knew that they're going to be there for a while and we need to save the feed there. However, all those paddocks have gone under as well. Now, those cattle stood in the water and we've been lucky enough not to lose too many. A few calves and bits and pieces and another 20 weaners that we lost. But those weaners were in the safest part of any of the farms. They were on a hill. And they decided to jump back into the water to go back to another island. And there's nothing we can do about that. They've just decided they wanted to do that. But there was another 40 cattle with them and they didn't do that. So... Sam Hawley: Right. Interesting. Josh Hack: It's pretty tough. But, like, across the whole floodplain, it's just a disaster. Like, the silt levels, the fences are gone. You know, we've spent two days trying to get cattle in because the fences aren't there, trying to get them through silt, trying to get them into yards. We've got to clean yards and try and work out which yards we can get into. Then we're going to try and scrape all the silt away from the yards so we can get trucks in. Yeah, so it's quite an effort just to try and get animals out to get them to a safe spot. Sam Hawley: Yeah, I bet. Yeah, I was going to say the aftermath is often so much worse, right? Because you see the extent of that damage. Josh Hack: Yeah, absolutely. Every day that water went down, two to three days after, you've just seen more and more and more damage. And, you know, the town is amazing, like, the amount of people getting around and helping each other. Sam Hawley: Yeah. Josh Hack: But they're going to need help for a long time going forward. And from the farmer's point of view, which is, you know, where I sort of... it's my industry I work in, you know, they're going to need a lot of feed. Feed's hard to get because we've had droughts down in South Australia, Victoria, so all the feed down southern parts of the country has really sort of taken up. And then if you go to Queensland, they had the floods in Western Queensland as well, which a lot of feed went out that way. So, you know, the donated stuff isn't easy to find for people like Need for Feed. So they're going to have to be purchasing it. Like I said, it's just... it's a week or two, three weeks away, four weeks away when people... you know, that hype goes away and the energy levels drop. And speaking to one dairy farmer, you know, they went through the 2021 flood and, you know, they got back up and milking and the place was a disaster, but they had their house as a refuge. And it's just such a different thing when you don't have your house anymore and it's all full of sludge and you've got to try and work out how to clean it. You don't have that refuge you can go back to and have a cup of tea and just take the five minutes you need to take. And that's the hard bit is there's so many places now under that wouldn't have been under, you know, in those other floods. Sam Hawley: Wow. Absolutely devastating. And as you mentioned, quite incredible that you have been through these devastating floods, but then you go south and there are so many farmers dealing with really severe drought. I mean, Josh, being a farmer in Australia, it is so tough. Are you going to keep going? Josh Hack: Oh, look, it is. And look, these guys, they all say they're going to keep going and it's easy to say. But without the Australian support, I can tell you now, like they've been hit from pillar to post, especially locally around here. We've had the droughts from 16 to 19, 21, we had a one in a 100 year flood. In 2023, we had the driest winter on record. OK, and then 2025, we're at a one in 500 year flood. So these guys weren't back on their feet. Some of them were just getting there. But, you know, the enormity of the tasks ahead, you know, they're trying and they're trying to punch through those jobs. But the enormity of this task ahead, they need hope. And the Australian people have got to be able to give them hope. And when I say Australian people, it means the Australian government and give people hope that they're going to get the support they need in the in the short term, not to mention the long term future. Sam Hawley: Yeah, and we need our farmers, Josh, that's for sure. Josh Hack: Yeah, no, you do. Look, and, you know, me and my family, like we started beef farming as it's our investment. You know, we sold our house and bought cattle. So, you know, it is tough, but what's tough is seeing your mates and your friends and people that are hard as rocks, that are such good people that are just really broken. And yeah, there's a lot of them. There's dairy farmers, there's beef farmers. You go up river here to Mount George and through into Gloucester. Rivers have changed course. There's river flats that are just gone. There's pastures that have been planted across the whole district in March and April that we're all ready to feed off. So they've spent the money this year. They've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars getting their pasture ready for the year, and it's all gone. And these guys need hope so that they know that they can, you know, afford to do some of these things in the short term. Jess Davis: I'm Jess Davis, and I'm a climate reporter, but I'm based out in Western Victoria. Sam Hawley: Jess, we're seeing a really terrible set of circumstances unfolding for New South Wales farmers who've been coping with this devastating flooding. But if you head further south, the farmers there are in drought. And it hasn't made huge headlines until recently. But just tell me, how bad is it? Jess Davis: It's quite stark how different the picture is in different parts of the country right now. Farmers in parts of southern Australia have been calling this the forgotten drought for the past 15 months from Ceduna, which is west of Adelaide in South Australia, all the way to Wilsons Promontory, east of Melbourne, western Tasmania. Large swathes of that southern stretch of coast have seen some of their lowest rainfall on record. And the landscape is just desperately dry. It's a normally very lush, fertile region in southwest Victoria. And if you look at the paddocks, they're just red dirt and dust. So it's really a dire picture out here. Sam Hawley: And you have been speaking to some farmers in the region, including Charlie de Fagely. He has seen four droughts in his lifetime, and he actually thinks this one is the worst. Jess Davis: That's right. Charlie and his wife Liz own a sheep farm with a flock of about 10,000 sheep near Ararat, which is two and a half hours west of Melbourne. Charlie de Fegely, sheep farmer: This is probably the toughest couple of years I've had. Because it's two years. All the others were just a failed winter, failed spring, and it broke the following autumn. This is by far the worst. Jess Davis: At the moment, he's bringing in 60 tonnes of feed every 10 days for his flock because there's just nothing left for them to graze on. Sam Hawley: And there's a lot of farmers in that area, and many of them are now having to actually sell their stock, aren't they? Jess Davis: That's right. Just last week, I went to the sale yards in Ballarat, and they told me that 20,000 cattle had been sold just out of southwest Victoria in the week. Now, most of those were going to northern New South Wales and Queensland. And in one way, it's one of the saving graces for farmers out here, is that until last week, conditions in northern New South Wales and Queensland have been really good. And so they've been able to sell their stock at pretty good prices. You know, other droughts that are more widespread, the prices for stock really plummet, and so you can't even sell them. But for this drought, farmers have been able to get relatively good prices. Now, something that's, you know, a big risk now is that because of the floods in New South Wales, we've seen those pastures ruined by too much rain rather than too little rain. And that's only going to push prices of hay and feed up. And there are farmers out here who are already telling me that that not only is it expensive to get feed, but they actually can't find a supply. So that is the two disasters coinciding is going to really exacerbate some of these problems. And there could be some very difficult decisions for farmers coming up. Sam Hawley: Such a hard time for them. So, Jess, we know drought and flooding rains are not unusual in Australia, that's for sure. But these two things occurring at the same time and obviously the severity is getting worse. So what role do scientists say climate change is playing here? Jess Davis: That's right. Australia does have a long history of droughts, but a lack of autumn and winter rainfall is something that both southwest and southeast Australia are now becoming increasingly familiar with. The weather systems that lift and carry moisture from the ocean to fall as heavy rain on land. They've been absent from southern Australia in recent months. And the majority of climate projections show this trend continuing. And it's particularly stark in southwest Western Australia, where we've seen this drying trend since the 1970s. And scientists have actually been able to attribute that to human caused climate change, largely from the burning of fossil fuels. Now, if you look at the floods, rainfall and flood predictions are a little trickier than that of heat and dry. But what we do know is that the warmer the atmosphere gets from the burning of fossil fuels, the more moisture it can hold. And ultimately, the more fuel big rain systems have to tap into. And so heavy rainfall is expected to become more intense as the climate gets warmer. The projections are a little bit trickier in rural areas and large river basins where floods are driven by multi-day rainfall events, like we saw last week and by the preceding soil moisture conditions. But there is evidence that the flood peaks for rarer flood events like this one have increased across many parts of the world. Sam Hawley: OK, well, it does seem like it's becoming a lot tougher for farmers in Australia. When things are good, they can be really good. But when they're bad, my gosh. So I guess, Jess, the question is, can farmers in Australia actually adapt to what the climate is doing to survive, to be able to farm in this country? Jess Davis: They can and they already are. And Charlie de Fagely, he told me that every drought they've learnt to do something differently. So that includes what they feed their sheep, what they grow in their paddocks and importantly, how they manage water. So he spent a lot of money so that every paddock has water piped and there are troughs. Through the floods there have been similar stories, including one farmer who built a ramp for his cows after the 2021 floods so that they would have higher ground to escape to. That saved his dairy herd this time around. But sadly, not all farmers will survive these kinds of conditions. They have to really implement modern farming practices and technologies and have the money and resources to be able to do that. Sam Hawley: Jess Davis is a reporter with the ABC's Climate team. Josh Hack is a farmer from Taree. This episode was produced by Sydney Pead and Adair Sheppard. Audio production by Sam Dunn. Our supervising producer is David Coady. I'm Sam Hawley. Thanks for listening.
The Sun
26-05-2025
- The Sun
Our beautiful seaside town was once dubbed the Magaluf of Britain – strict ‘mankini ban' saved us
A SEASIDE town that was once known as 'Britain's Magaluf' is unrecognisable after cleaning up its image - and banning mankinis. Business owners and locals say they hardly recognise Newquay in Cornwall, after a major effort was made to shed its 'wild west' reputation. 11 11 The coastal spot had a reputation for rowdiness and was known for playing host to stag dos, lads holidays and drunken teenage gatherings. The council finally had enough and in 2009 introduced a "mankini ban." The new law, which was part of the award-winning Newquay Safe campaign, banned mankinis and other "inappropriate clothing" such as fancy dress in public. The campaign was introduced after two teenagers tragically died on nights out in the town. It was a huge success, Devon and Cornwall Police reported crime in 2012 fell by one-fifth compared to 2009. Reports of anti-social behaviour also dropped from 685 to 286 in those years. Long suffering locals say Newquay today is a world apart from its past. Independent coffee shops line the high street where the infamous Bertie's nightclub, which closed its doors last year. Families walk along the quiet coast and take surfing lessons, while older residents play bowls overlooking the beach. Vintage and skate and surf clothing stores are dotted amongst quaint pasty shops. The only markers of a different time are the arcades in the town centre. Arcade worker Maddie Grover, 25, says that while there are still stag dos, they're "not as bad as they were at the time." She grew up in the town and said the area particularly quietened down after Bertie's closed down. She said now some clubs don't allow stag dos inside if the attendees are dressed up. Maddie added: "The high street is a little bit rowdy in the central area. It's better now, it's more calm, there aren't as many fights. "We see lots of families because we work in an arcade but we see a lot more families in general." 11 11 Andy, 40, is happy the town had shed its former reputation, he said: "I definitely think it's better. "There's a higher level of respect and there isn't the locals being like: 'Oh God.' "Silly season, we expect, but it's not something you're dreading anymore. You're not dodging vomit on the high street. "I skateboard from the top of the hill to the shop and there's no longer passed-out people, people who have vomited everywhere and broken glass. It's cleaned up quite a lot since then. "I just see hungry, happy, people wandering around in the mornings looking for a good breakfast. "There are families coming down, and the families that come down have that mentality of: 'I'd love to live here because of how it is.' "Compared to before when you would walk down the high street and see six dudes in mankinis and none of them have seen a gym before and you're like: 'Great.' "You still get stag and hen dos but they've been reined in. There are certain rules and regulations, like the mankini ban. You're not allowed fancy dress in certain bars over a certain time in the evenings. 11 11 11 Andy, who likes to wear spandex and cowboy boots, complained that the rules were so strict it had meant staff had refused him entry. "There's a difference between fancy dress and dressing fancy", he said. "It's entertaining to a certain degree. The way I see it, living in Newquay, if you think you're in the circus, it's a headache; if you think it is a circus and you're just watching it, it's quite funny because you're not taking it seriously. "Fights are fights, it's always going to happen. It's the nature of mixing alcohol with idiots. You might not get it to such a grand scale now but it's still going to happen. "We want you to have a good time but also we want to have a good time, so don't knock the bins over at 3am and wake everybody up. "It's just goofy stuff and not stuff the police can be running round and dealing with." He said tourists were attracted by the "little town mentality and community." Seaside town Andy added: "Everyone's welcome until they do something stupid and then they get shunned. "It's a small town; crime is pretty low." However, he said there was a problem with second homes - an epidemic across Cornwall. Locals complain they are being priced out of their picturesque towns by people buying up their houses and raising costs. Andy added: "There is a problem with second homes and the council renting out homes to undesirables. I've noticed that quite a lot. "Families are just shoved in and they then treat the place like crap and then a couple months later they get kicked back out again because the council looks at the state of the place and goes: 'Oh, you're not taking care of this.' That happens quite a lot." Peron Wills, a climbing instructor from nearby St Dennis, said he was part of the nightlife when he was younger. 11 11 The 38-year-old said: "It's not as good a night out as it used to be. "I have been on stag dos here and they were pretty crazy. They have New Year's and Christmas parties still but I think it used to be crazier. "I don't go out anymore so I just assume nobody does." Mark Dixon has been in Newquay for 40 years. The arcade worker said it is nowhere near as busy as it used to be, as Newquay would be "booming" from the Easter holidays until the October half term. However, he pointed to a trend rising throughout Cornwall - the second home. Mark, 58, said: "We haven't got any hotels anymore; most of them have been converted. There used to be a lot of guest houses but now there are second homes no one can afford. "When I was younger there were quite a lot of clubs and pubs. Sailors is the only club we have in town. "Bertie's shut; Hotel Victoria, Prince Albert pub." He said the newcomers sometimes didn't understand the small nature of the town. Mark said: "People ask us: 'Can you tell me where River Island is?' "We say we haven't got one and they look at you and wonder how we exist.
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Seaside town rids itself of ‘Britain's Magaluf' nickname after huge clean up and council ban on MANKINIS
A seaside town once dubbed 'Britain's Magaluf' stands unrecognisable today after a huge clean-up and a council ban on mankinis. Business owners and residents say Newquay, Cornwall, is barely recognisable these days, following a determined push to move away from its former 'wild west' image. The seaside town was once known for its rowdy atmosphere, regularly drawing stag parties, lads' holidays, and booze-fuelled teenage gatherings. But in 2009, the council finally put its foot down and imposed a no-nonsense 'mankini ban'. The new law, part of the award-winning Newquay Safe campaign, banned mankinis and other 'inappropriate clothing' — including fancy dress — in public. The crackdown came after two teenagers tragically died on nights out in the town. The results spoke for themselves. By 2012, Devon and Cornwall Police reported a 20 per cent drop in crime compared to 2009, with anti-social behaviour incidents plummeting from 685 to just 286. Long-suffering locals say Newquay today couldn't be more different from its rowdy party past. Independent coffee shops now line the high street, where the infamous Bertie's nightclub once stood before closing last year. Families stroll along the peaceful coastline, surfers take lessons, and older residents enjoy bowls with a view of the beach. Vintage, skate, and surfwear stores sit alongside charming pastry shops. The only reminders of the old wild days are the arcades still buzzing in the town centre. Arcade worker Maddie Grover, 25, says that while there are still stag dos, they're 'not as bad as they were at the time'. She grew up in the town and said the area particularly quietened down after Bertie's closed down. She said now some clubs don't allow stag dos inside if the attendees are dressed up. Maddie added: 'The high street is a little bit rowdy in the central area. It's better now, it's calmer, there aren't as many fights. 'We see lots of families because we work in an arcade but we see a lot more families in general.' Andy, 40, said he was happy the town had shed its former reputation. The shop worker said: 'I definitely think it's better. 'There's a higher level of respect and there isn't the locals being like: 'Oh God.' 'Silly season, we expect, but it's not something you're dreading anymore. 'You're not dodging vomit on the high street. 'I skateboard from the top of the hill to the shop and there's no longer passed-out people, people who have vomited everywhere and broken glass. It's cleaned up quite a lot since then. 'I just see hungry, happy, high people wandering around in the mornings looking for a good breakfast. 'There are families coming down, and the families that come down have that mentality of: 'I'd love to live here because of how it is.' 'Compared to before, when you would walk down the high street and see six dudes in mankinis and none of them have seen a gym before, and you're like: 'Great'. He added: 'You still get stag and hen dos, but they've been reined in. There are certain rules and regulations, like the mankini ban. You're not allowed fancy dress in certain bars over a certain time in the evening. 'In the day, if you want to come out and have a stag do and everyone dresses up and has fun, that's absolutely fine, but once it gets past a certain time of night, it tends to knock that on the head.' Andy, who likes to wear spandex and cowboy boots, complained that the rules were so strict it had meant staff had refused him entry. 'There's a difference between fancy dress and dressing fancy', he said. In general, he agreed Newquay had 'cleaned up its act'. 'It's entertaining to a certain degree. The way I see it, living in Newquay, if you think you're in the circus, it's a headache; if you think it is a circus and you're just watching it, it's quite funny because you're not taking it seriously. 'It's the only place you have to look up and down a one-way street because you can get run over. On this street, you see it all the time, and tourists will get angry at you for stopping them until they realise they're going the wrong way. 'Fights are fights, it's always going to happen. It's the nature of mixing alcohol with idiots. 'You might not get it to such a grand scale now but it's still going to happen. 'People will smash bottles on the beach. 'I don't care what you do but my mates walk down here barefoot, my friend's kids play on the beach. The beach is for everyone, not just for you to have fun. 'There is a bit of that and locals will bark at people. 'We want you to have a good time but also we want to have a good time, so don't knock the bins over at 3am and wake everybody up. 'It's just goofy stuff and not stuff the police can be running around and dealing with.' He said tourists were attracted by the 'little town mentality and community'. Andy added: 'Everyone's welcome until they do something stupid and then they get shunned. 'It's a small town; crime is pretty low.' However, he said there was a problem with second homes - an epidemic across Cornwall. Locals complain they are being priced out of their picturesque towns by people buying up their houses and raising costs. Andy added: 'There is a problem with second homes and the council renting out homes to undesirables. I've noticed that quite a lot. 'Families are just shoved in and they then treat the place like crap and then a couple months later they get kicked back out again because the council looks at the state of the place and goes: 'Oh, you're not taking care of this.' That happens quite a lot.' Peron Wills, a climbing instructor from nearby St Dennis, said he was part of the nightlife when he was younger. The 38-year-old said: 'It's not as good a night out as it used to be. 'I have been on stag dos here and they were pretty crazy. They have New Year's and Christmas parties still but I think it used to be crazier. 'I don't go out anymore so I just assume nobody does. 'There were always moans in the local papers that Newquay needs cleaning up.. I don't think it's just Newquay; every town has the old versus young. 'Everyone moves away to go and find money. You grow up here and can't afford to live here for a while so you go away and come back when you retire. There's a big age gap. 'There are still clubs around but not as many as there used to be. 'It was always families during the day but don't go out at night.' Mark Dixon has been in Newquay for 40 years. The arcade worker said it is nowhere near as busy as it used to be, as Newquay would be 'booming' from the Easter holidays until the October half term. However, he pointed to a trend rising throughout Cornwall - the second home. Mark, 58, said: 'We haven't got any hotels anymore; most of them have been converted. There used to be a lot of guest houses but now there are second homes no one can afford. 'When I was younger, there were quite a lot of clubs and pubs. Sailors is the only club we have in town. 'Bertie's shut; Hotel Victoria, Prince Albert pub.' He said the newcomers sometimes didn't understand the small nature of the town. Mark said: 'People ask us: 'Can you tell me where River Island is?' 'We say we haven't got one and they look at you and wonder how we exist. 'In the last few years there have been a lot of new houses being built. That's the crux of the problem. 'I don't know what all the people here are doing. I assume they all work from home.' He noticed the high street had changed, with more smaller restaurants. Mark added: 'It's different. It's a nice place to live.'
News.com.au
26-05-2025
- Climate
- News.com.au
‘Got your back': ADF deployed across NSW Mid North Coast as mammoth flood clean-up begins
Anthony Albanese will deploy the Australian Defence Force to flood-affected areas as waters recede across parts of NSW's Mid North Coast and Hunter regions that were decimated by devastating floods last week. As the clean-up process begins, more than 10,000 homes have been damaged and more than 30,000 people remain cut off, including communities in Wingham, after the Bight Bridge was destroyed over the weekend. More than 3000 homes have so far been assessed for damage by the SES, of which 300 have been deemed uninhabitable. On Monday morning, the Prime Minister said 70 ADF personnel would be deployed in the mammoth clean-up efforts. The ADF will be positioned to begin the clean-up on Tuesday, he said, alongside the National Emergency Management Agency and emergency services from Victoria, ACT, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and New Zealand. PM not going through recovery funds 'with a calculator': Mr Albanese said having the ADF on the ground was 'a sign of how seriously we, as a nation, are taking to what is a catastrophic event'. 'From my experience, the presence of ADF personnel on the ground brings enormous confidence to communities that are really doing it tough,' he told reporters. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the ADF would be on the ground in some of the impacted communities to assist with early clean-up efforts and thanked the volunteers and communities who had already made inroads with recovery. 'Alongside emergency services and Disaster Relief Australia, the ADF will provide support to assist with planning, welfare checks, route clearance and the reâ€'establishment of critical infrastructure across the region,' he said. Mr Albanese said the floods revealed the Australian spirit, and he added that more assistance would be on the way. 'At the worst of times we see the best of the Australian character, and we've seen that once again in NSW,' he said 'People stepping up to help out because that's the Australian way. 'My message to these communities is simple: we've got your back. 'That's why we're activating further support and sending more help to communities impacted by these devastating floods.' When asked about the costs of the clean-up, Mr Albanese said the government knew it would cause a 'substantial' economic impact, but he wouldn't be limiting funds for certain areas. 'We know … that what we don't do is go through with a calculator,' he told reporters. 'What we do is say, if it's needed, we'll support you. Simple as that.' Mammoth clean-up begins As thousands of residents slowly begin the enormous clean-up and recovery effort following the devastating floods, people have travelled from all over the country to chip in how they can. Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain said financial assistance and the 'clean-up support on the ground' was 'just the beginnings' in the giant recovery process. 'I want to assure people in the Hunter and Mid North Coast that there will be a united effort between the three levels of government to support impacted communities at every stage of recovery,' she said on Monday. 'As floodwaters recede and as we get a better picture of the full extent of damage, we will work quickly to activate more tailored assistance to support people in the Hunter and Mid North Coast.' Foster resident Holly told the ABC that she 'and a group of amazing women' formed the MidCoast Community Flood Response, a group of 600 volunteers who are working tirelessly alongside the SES to help support towns get back on their feet. 'It is not the community's responsibility to lead efforts,' she said, adding they needed more volunteers to support towns like Taree. 'We are working behind the official efforts, but we can mobilise our community in an organised way that is safe, responsible and means we can respond at scale alongside the SES,' she said. SES flood recovery safety tips The SES has advised residents taking part in the clean-up to be cautious of floodwaters containing dangerous debris and pollutants, such as garbage, chemicals, debris, sewage, germs such as bacteria, fungi and viruses. Residents have been told to take photos of their properties before they begin cleaning for insurance claims. They have also been told to wear protective clothing when touching or cleaning flood-damaged items and to leave waste on the kerbside, separating whitegoods and mattresses from other debris. 'This has been an incredibly challenging event for many communities, and I want to sincerely thank our NSW SES volunteers and partner agencies for their unwavering dedication and commitment in responding to this crisis,' NSW SES commissioner Mike Wassing said. 'As we transition into the recovery phase of this operation, our priority remains on delivering essential supplies to the thousands of residents who remain isolated. 'As the water recedes, we are only now starting to see the true scale of the devastation communities are dealing with. 'We are carrying out rapid assessments and working with communities to wash and clean out properties where it is safe to do so, but with 10,000 properties impacted, this will take time,' he added. 'Recovery is a long process, but communities have demonstrated remarkable resilience and resourcefulness, and I have no doubt they can rebuild together.' Warragamba Dam overflows Shortly after 5pm on Saturday, the Warragamba Dam reached full capacity and began a small spill early on Sunday morning. The dam, which services much of Sydney, passed its peak of inflow on Sunday, a spokesman told NewsWire. 'Based on current inflow predictions, the peak outflow could be around 20 gigalitres a day,' they said.
