Latest news with #midnorthcoast
SBS Australia
3 days ago
- Climate
- SBS Australia
‘Dead cows in the house': How floods devastated Australian farmers
Dairy farmer Kevin Schlenert says he's continuing to find cattle who were washed away in floodwaters. Some are turning up alive, but many are still being discovered dead far downstream. Source: SBS News Content warning: The story contains distressing images of dead animals. Brothers Kevin and Doug Schlenert have been lifelong dairy farmers, carrying on in the footsteps of three generations of their family. Floods that devastated the NSW mid-north coast last week destroyed their diary production facilities and killed at least 70 per cent of their herd. "I've got no dairy now to keep going. I don't know which way to turn at the current moment,' Kevin said, speaking with SBS News at his home in Glenthorne on Sunday. "I don't know if I can bounce back from this. I really don't know.' Kevin said the water rose so fast he became trapped inside his home for 24 hours before he was picked up in a neighbour's boat. "It raised very quick. I went to the steps [of my house] within half an hour, then all of a sudden, in an hour and a half it was at the windowsill. "I sat in my bedroom on the mattress where I was found floating. "I had my dog and cat on the mattress with me. I had to vacate out the window.' He said one heifer floated into the house, while he sat on his floating mattress. "One got into my bedroom. She was alive and swimming, and she wanted to climb on the mattress," Kevin said. What he saw when he returned shattered him. "I found three [cattle] alive in my house and five dead ones inside the house. I have removed them and buried them," Kevin said. "It's heartbreaking to see them because you reared them as babies, and you get attached to them." He said he found more dead cattle downriver and heard of more washed up on beaches. Kevin's story is one shared by many dairy farmers in the area. His brother Doug, who shares the property and dairy with Kevin and also lost livestock, says the entire community is "drained". "There's a few dairy farmers here that haven't been hit bloody hard, they've been hit that hard it's not funny," Doug told SBS News on Wednesday. "One family, they've lost a hundred head of cattle — and they were big freaking cows. "The dairy industry up in the Manning is a big community. But [in] times like this we'll struggle." During a visit to the area on Tuesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited a dairy farm in West Taree. Doug says he would have liked to have seen the Albanese visit more impacted farmers. "He didn't come anywhere near me. He didn't show his face in Glenthorne." "I'd like to say to him, 'I found 32 dead cows, prime minister, are you gonna replace them?'" Kevin said cows are turning up alive, but it's difficult to get them back to the pastures. "We're not equipped to go onto the beaches and find them," he said. "We don't have horses, motorbikes to get them off the beaches, and there's still cattle running loose on the streets." Since Kevin's story was first shared this week, many have expressed sorrow and a desire to help. Kevin and Doug said they've felt touched by the messages of support, but stressed their plight was shared across the region, by dairy farmers, feed producers, oyster growers, beekeepers, shops, and residents. "If people want to help, they can help — we've just gotta get the dairy up and running. That's going to be a real big task," Doug said. But both he and Kevin said they're not sure if they'll be able to come back from this. "I think this has just pushed the boundaries too far." "I've been through the 2021 flood, and this year I think this is the fourth one I've been through, and I don't know if I can come out of this on the other side of it." "It's in our blood — my dad, his dad, and his dad. Three generations of dairy farmers," Doug said. He says they need a new vat and compressors to start up dairy production again, as their equipment was destroyed in the flood. For now, they're milking cows in a neighbour's dairy. Kevin says he's received the one-off $1,000 payment made available for flood victims. He says he's also eligible for a $130,000 two-year interest-free loan from the government. "Then I'd start paying it back over 12 years. That would be getting me close up to 70 years of age, I don't know if I still want to be dairying then," Kevin said. More than money, Kevin wants to see real and lasting change. He wants flood warning sirens installed across the Manning River catchment, which is one of the biggest in NSW. "Make sure the sirens are put on the river because you never know what Mother Nature is going to throw at us again," Kevin said. "If the river rises, they go off quicker than what the SES can get the text messages to us or any news crew get messages to us." "If the politicians don't get off their bums and put the flood warning sirens in place, it's not going to prevent another disaster like this." While in the region this week, Albanese acknowledged the particular challenge facing primary producers, including dairy farmers. "We know there are major challenges, but what we're about now is dealing with the immediate concerns of recovery and looking after people during this period," Albanese said. NSW Nationals leader Dugald Saunders said he'd like to see more meaningful support for farmers. "We haven't heard any indication of when a category C or D declaration might be made, which would unlock what we know is needed for primary producers and also for small businesses, which is grant funding," Saunders said. "Nobody can manage or wants another concession alone. That's currently what's on offer. Nobody can afford that. Nobody's had insurance. "If they've had a loan previously, they're worried about paying that off. They need a helping hand in the form of a grant. They do not need another loan." Emergency Services Minister Kristy McBain on Wednesday said the federal government was "hoping to enact category C ... shortly". A spokesperson for Dairy Australia said as well as financial support, the mental health of farmers is a growing concern, given the scale of the flood impacts. "Dairy Australia's regional teams are reaching out to flood-affected farmers with direct check-in calls to better understand the impact on their farms and well-being," the spokesperson said. "The locally led NSW Dairy Emergency Leadership Group is also providing practical support, prioritising immediate response needs such as assisting in allocating/sourcing fodder, generator support for those without power, milking machine techs, vet assistance, matching options for cow parking, mental health support, and communications to impacted farmers." Dairy Australia says some fundraisers have been set up for impacted farmers, but that the organisation does not endorse any specific charity or fundraising campaign. "We do note that the NSW SES is leading the flood response, and Rural Aid has stepped in to provide practical support to farmers recovering from natural disasters. Both of these organisations accept donations," the spokesperson said. Hundreds of fundraisers have been set up for residents and businesses impacted by the NSW floods. A spokesperson for GoFundMe says it has established a crisis team to oversee heightened fundraising activity. "We also launched a dedicated hub of verified fundraisers to help Australians discover fundraisers for those impacted by the floods." "It is not uncommon for those with no direct connection to launch a fundraiser, out of kindness and goodwill. In these cases, all donations are safely held until GoFundMe are able to ensure that funds can be transferred safely to the intended beneficiary. "If our specialists are unable to verify a connection, the fundraiser will be removed and donors refunded." Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). Readers seeking support with mental health can contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. More information is available at .
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
‘It's just maths': uninsurable, disaster-hit pockets of Australia pose existential questions requiring radical answers
On Tuesday 20 May, as rain pounded Taree and flood waters rose, eight people wheeled a grand piano on its castors across one of the town's main streets and into an office block. The piano, worth $20,000, was saved and still sits, nearly two weeks later, in the office with employees working around it. But much of the rest of the stock from Bass 'N' Blues Music Megastore – including 180 guitars, 80 amplifiers and $100,000 worth of sheet music – was destroyed. 'We went through the floods four years ago and we've been putting it back together ever since,' Tanya Brown says. 'But we did a shop change a few weeks ago and it's the best it's ever looked. 'We got new guitar lines in just days before the flood. A $6,000 amplifier I've been waiting on for nine months for a customer, that arrived a couple of days before – it's gone.' Brown, 51, who has lived in Taree all her life, says the hardest moment was walking back into the store the first time after the flood waters that hit the mid-north coast of New South Wales had receded. 'There were tears for about 20 minutes and we thought, we'll let ourselves have that moment, then we put our boots on and got to work.' Brown, her husband, Trevor, with whom she runs the store, friends and a crew of volunteers who were just waiting outside the shop ready to help clean it up have successfully got the place emptied and ready for reconstruction: gyprock walls need pulling out, carpets need replacing, the place needs to dry. 'Once we've done that we can get some stock back in and start getting it back together,' she says. Reopening is her primary focus, for her staff and for the town. 'Our community needs us, we're a driver of musical education and live music playing – we need to get back up and going.' On the one hand, Brown is testament to the resilience of survivors of disasters that politicians rightly praise as they tour waterlogged or fire-ravaged towns. But she has questions too, questions that move beyond immediate recovery for her store and Taree, and shift the focus from individual – or even community – responsibility for recovery. Questions about how we handle crises like these going forward, the perils of insurance in increasingly uninsurable communities, how governments support people in the wake of disasters, and whether bigger conversations around disaster adaptation and mitigation need to happen. 'We've really been dealing with these massive events these last few years,' Brown says. 'It seems to take governments a long time to be able to initiate those conversations and change. 'Whatever's changing our climate – they can argue about what it is until the cows come home – but the fact is it's changing and we're going to have to do things differently.' The most immediate question for many people following the frantic drumbeat of disasters across Australia is what to do about insurance. Floods in 2021 that hit the east coast of Australia, including the mid-coast and Hunter region that has been devastated by last week's flood event, rendered nearly 1,200 houses uninhabitable – including one in Taree that was found drifting in the Manning River – and led to more than 53,144 insurance claims totalling $629.6m. In the wake of that disaster, many home and business owners found their properties suddenly uninsurable for flood damage. Others were faced with insurance premiums costing tens of thousands more each year. Brown was one of the lucky ones – if anyone whose business has just been destroyed and community pulverised by a natural disaster can be described as lucky – in that she had flood insurance. But she does not anticipate that getting a payout will be straightforward. Her insurance payout from 2021 – about $350,000 – only just came through four months ago. She describes getting it as 'the fight of our lives'. This time around, three times the volume of water came into her store, the damage was far worse, and the claim could be as much as double last time. She anticipates another battle. Rupesh Phirangi, owner of Manning Valley Dental, which sits right on the riverfront, with sweeping views from its veranda and bay windows of the beautiful Manning River, had flood insurance – though didn't need it – until the floods of 2021. After that flood event, he suddenly found no company would offer flood insurance to him. 'The problem is we have been given a red flag for flood insurance,' he says. 'The maximum we could take is storm damage.' In Phirangi's 20 years in the area, the flood waters only ever filled his surgery's garage on the lower level, never getting beyond the doorstep of the clinic on the first floor. But this time – his first flood uninsured – the flood waters breached the clinic, reaching waist-height. He estimates 80% of his equipment – much of it electrical, expensive and specialised – has been destroyed, leaving him with a bill of $250,000-$300,000. 'It has done a massive devastation,' he says. 'Unimaginable.' Without insurance, it isn't clear how Phirangi will be able to rebuild and get his business running again. Various state and federal government grants exist to help people who are uninsured and the NSW premier, Chris Minns, said on a visit to the area on Thursday that he'd had 'extensive talks' with the prime minister about a package of support for businesses and primary producers. As of Friday, the details of the package had not been announced, with Minns saying they would be made public 'imminently'. 'We want to make sure that the assistance … works, pulls those businesses back out of a very difficult situation and ensures that they continue to operate,' the premier said on Thursday. Phirangi says: 'We have been told there will be some sort of funding available. But this is a big loss, I'm not sure to what extent they will help us.' Ian Wright, associate professor in environmental science at Western Sydney University, specialising in water management and policy, says the situation facing so many communities in flood-prone or bushfire-prone areas, who now either could not get insurance or could not afford skyrocketing premiums, shows 'the insurance system has broken down'. 'I think there's a question about the social licence to operate of insurers at the moment. And I think that's really, really, really deep, and I think it's going to hit other disaster-hit communities as well: coastal flooding, bushfire, floods.' Wright says a new model has to be considered to replace how insurance is currently working, suggesting that the Australian government could implement an underwriting agreement with insurers for flood disasters, in the same way it does for cyclone-hit communities. 'I don't know why we wouldn't adopt that. But it seems half-hearted, very petty, and we really haven't got our heads around collectively how we support these communities and step in to provide very significant help to those who are uninsured.' Greg Mullins, the former NSW Fire and Rescue Commissioner, and founder of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action (Elca), says insurance companies pulling out of providing coverage for disaster-prone areas cop a lot of criticism but are often just following the business case. 'People don't realise, but insurers have to price to the risk, and … they're sometimes better at risk assessment than governments are. 'People like to blame them. But why would you give away money if you're in a business? 'I'm not an apologist for the insurance industry, but it's just maths.' The problem is that there is just not enough money in the government coffers to make up the shortfall, he says. 'There's too many people needing that government help, now that there's so many uninsured. Everything we're talking about is billions and billions of dollars.' Mullins' solution would be to institute a tax on super profits of fossil fuel companies. 'Let's tax them properly and set up a national climate adaptation and resilience fund.' Can he imagine there ever being political will for such a policy? 'I hope so. I hope [Labor] have got the guts with this massive mandate for change, and the proof will be in the pudding when people can actually be moved – you know, have their homes moved out of harm's way, have a new home built, do it with dignity. They'll think, 'Wow, what a great idea.'' The question of moving is a fraught one and not one that Jenny Wilkinson, 77, had considered until last week's flood. She lives with her partner George on a two-hectare property on the edge of Taree that her parents bought in 1978. It's a property she loves dearly, describing the huge fig trees that line the drive, that were planted by her father four decades ago, and likely protected the home from some damage when the flood waters rose, the giant branches catching wood and debris that could have smashed their house. George, who is in his late 80s, has serious health problems that prevented the couple from leaving their property in a timely way and so they had to be rescued, clambering over an upstairs veranda and into a police boat and ferried to safety. When she returned to the property, she found the body of one of her three pet horses, a Shetland pony, by the house. They lost all of their horses, most of their 20 cattle and all but one chicken. Inside the house, the ground floor was filled with mud and furniture had been ruined, but the biggest blow was the photographs. 'Mum and dad's photos that were up on the walls, the real old ones with the curved glass, they're all gone. So the memories you've got in your head, but you can't look at them and say, 'Hi Mum, hi Dad'.' Wilkinson doesn't have insurance for the property. After the 2021 floods, which saw about a metre of water enter her home and much of the contents be destroyed, only one company would offer her flood insurance, but the premium they were asking exceeded the amount she got for her pension each year and so she couldn't take it up. She has had a lot of community and family help clearing the property, and is staying with her sister in town until the home is habitable again, but isn't sure whether this home – that has been in her family for nearly 50 years – is one she could stay in for the long term. After the devastating northern rivers floods of 2022, the NSW government instituted a buyback scheme in which the government buy properties in areas at risk of flooding from property owners, with the option to move that home to a new location in some cases. Wright says we may have reached a tipping point where we need to start having conversations about moving people – and even whole communities – off flood plains and out of the line of future disasters. These are big and challenging conversations, he acknowledges. 'We are so far from knowing how to respond in a collective sense. I think we're suffering policy failure in this area. And again, looking at somewhere like Lismore and … our inability handle that on what in Australia really should be a manageable scale, to help a vulnerable community like that. I don't think it bodes well for the recovery of the people of the Manning.' Asked whether she would consider accepting a buyback if the government were to institute such a program in Taree, Wilkinson is initially emphatic. 'I'd never move. Even if they paid me to move, I wouldn't move.' But then she stops for a moment. 'Maybe I might reconsider that, not moving. After all, it depends how much they offer, I guess, so you can set up somewhere else. Yeah, I guess I might reconsider it. I have to give that a bit of thought. I love it out here, but sometimes, as we're getting so old, maybe it's a good thing that we do move. 'You worry about the next one, don't you?'
SBS Australia
5 days ago
- Climate
- SBS Australia
SBS News in Filipino Thursday, 29 May 2025
The future of the Coalition's commitment to net zero remains cloudy following the Liberals and Nationals reunion after eight days apart. About 3500 people remain isolated along the New South Wales mid-north coast after record-breaking floods, despite waters receding in recent days. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. reiterates 'unwavering commitment' to Constitution and Chain of Command. SBS Filipino 29/05/2025 06:07 📢 Where to Catch SBS Filipino 📲 Catch up episodes and stories – Visit or stream on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , Youtube Podcasts , and SBS Audio app.
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Climate
- The Guardian
About 800 homes destroyed by NSW floods with tally to rise as damage assessments continue
The number of homes destroyed in the recent New South Wales floods has doubled to about 800 as teams continue to asses the damage on the state's mid-north coast. The SES spokesman Matt Heap on Tuesday said that 794 homes had been deemed uninhabitable after more than 5,000 damage assessments were conducted. That figure was expected to rise. At the peak of the flooding, 50,000 people were isolated and more than 10,000 remain cut off. Five people were killed. Weather conditions were set to ease from Wednesday after damaging winds hit flood-affected communities. 'We do have damaging wind warnings ... that includes the high elevated parts of the mid-north coast and northern Hunter,' the senior meteorologist Dean Narramore from the Bureau of Meteorology said on Tuesday. 'We could see showers develop this afternoon with strong and gusty winds but those conditions should ease tonight and then they'll clear out by Wednesday.' The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, was visiting the region on Tuesday. Albanese announced on Monday that 70 Australian Defence Force personnel would be dispatched to help with recovery efforts. Affected locals have been picking up muddied possessions and surveying damage, while drones have been used to drop hay to isolated farms and for aerial welfare checks at properties. Nadia Zarb, an artist and gallery owner in Taree, said she could not have coped without community support. 'We've got the best community, we've got the support around us and I couldn't ask for anything more,' she said. Michael Kemp, the state MP for Oxley which covers four local government areas on the mid-north coast – said it was tough seeing 'people's livelihoods on the side of the kerb'. Insurers have so far received more than 4,000 claims. The crisis prompted federal-state natural disaster recovery arrangements, including small loans for business, which have been activated for 19 local government areas. 'I can assure everybody on the mid-north coast that those agencies are working around the clock to get those communities back up on their feet,' the NSW premier, Chris Minns, said. The NSW Nationals leader, Dugald Saunders, said farmers needed more than loans to help recover from the disaster. 'What they need is a helping hand in the form of a grant to enable them to uplift their business,' Saunders said. 'The feeling is a little bit starting to get angry now as people wonder where the support actually is.' The NSW police deputy commissioner Peter Thurtell warned of looting after two men, both aged 20, were arrested for allegedly stealing property amid the floods clean-up. 'The impact of this weather event has been unimaginable and to think they now have to be concerned about hanging on to whatever property they have left is a disgrace,' he said. 'Stealing from people vulnerable during hard times like these is un-Australian.'
ABC News
26-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
On this one street, half the residents lost entire homes to NSW floods
Mick Wicks watched on from the porch as more and more of his belongings were dragged to the rubbish pile. The 89-year-old's life heaped in front of him, covered in mud. "It's all the memories," he said, becoming emotional. "I never would have imagined this." Along Mr Wicks's street in Taree, nearly half the houses were under water in last week's catastrophic NSW floods. Now they were being gutted, their contents strewn across front lawns. Giant mounds of destroyed furniture, soiled mattress, clothes, toys and artwork. "It's just huge. Huge," Mick's daughter, Anneke Wicks, said. "It was only fours years ago we had to deal with this. And this one was a lot bigger." Ms Wicks lifted drenched photos from an old suitcase as her brothers tore apart rotting timber in the kitchen. "We just put stuff up on beds thinking that would be enough," she said. After 2021, many residents were not expecting another flood so soon — it had been described as a "one-in-100-year" weather event. This time around it was much worse. Taree was one of the worst-hit areas along the mid-north coast, copping 500mm of rain in a matter of days. "It's hard going through this all over again," Ms Wicks said. "We can ultimately replace furniture, but people being displaced is the big issue." It took several days for the flood waters to recede, and become safe enough to return to the street. When neighbour Terry Spinks opened his front door, he was shocked. "Everything was upside down," he said. "I've lost virtually everything. We haven't had much to salvage this time." The 77-year-old rebuilt his home after the 2021 floods, but the newer materials were still no match for the deluge. "It's marvellous what water does — it just puts things everywhere, and gets into everything," he said. "We put everything up high and thought it would be ok. But that's why we lost so much." Going door to door speaking to residents, there was exhaustion and frustration. Many spoke about being thankful for family and the outpouring of community support. But there was widespread disappointment with the government's response. More than 500 properties across the region have been declared uninhabitable, and an estimated 10,000 damaged. Many homes and businesses were left uninsured after 2021. Locals said some insurance companies were asking up to $30,000 a year for cover. The federal government is offering jointly funded Personal Hardship Payments — administered by NSW. But the one-off payments of $180, and up to $900 for a family of five or more, have been scoffed at by some Taree residents. "It's a joke," local resident Jake said. "One hundred and eighty dollars is barely enough to help me purchase food, let alone other essentials we need. Jake was renting a house at the end of the Taree street. He evacuated in the middle of the night when waters were rapidly rising above his ankles. It ended up nearly engulfing the entire house, reaching above the windows. "Mentally and emotionally I'm not as affected as some people would be," Jake said. "There was a poor lady up the street who was screaming and wailing. "Our government really needs to look at the resources it has and evenly distribute it however it can." Jake has decided to leave Taree. Others from the community are camping out in caravans, or staying with family and friends as they start from scratch. Michael Wicks is hoping he can return to the home he lived in for more than 35 years. And that he will be there for another decade when he reaches his 100th birthday. "I can make it to the big one zero zero, I just don't want to live through another one of these," he said. "Some people have it worse off than me. Some people don't have families. I'm just lucky I have family around."
