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Highlights:
- Anthony Albanese wants to cease housing development in floodplains.
- The Australian government is set to spend AU$520 million to raise, buy back, and retrofit homes in flood-prone areas.
- Eligible homeowners will be given funding on the basis of property and land valuation.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday (28 October 2022) announced an AU$800 million renovation and buyback scheme, as he intends to curb housing development in floodplains.
The AU$520 million buyback scheme is the highlight of the AU$800 million package, cofounded by the federal and New South Wale (NSW) governments. AU$800 million will be employed to buy back, repair, and retrofit homes in the area affected by flooding in the NSW Northern Rivers.
This scheme will empower around 2,000 flood-impacted residents to retrofit, repair, and raise their houses to make them flood-resilient.
Homeowners in high-risk areas will be eligible to be part of the government buyback. The rest of the homeowners in flood-hit NSW Northern Rivers will be eligible to receive around AU$100,000 to retrofit their homes against flooding and raise them off the ground. The cash would be offered on the basis of expert assessments of the severity of the flood and its effects on the home, potential future flood levels, and safety risks.
Eligible homeowners will be given funding on the basis of property and land valuation.
According to a media source, the state government will invest AU$100 million in land in flood-safe locations to construct new developments in collaboration with the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation.
Australian Prime Minister commentary
Anthony Albanese said that this package provides a way forward for those communities that are affected by continuous flooding this year. He added that with climate change, which is severely affecting multiple areas of Australia, the government could not afford houses to be built in a harmful way.
Albanese said:
The Australian Prime Minister also stated that he would work in close association with the NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet to incorporate changes to the floodplain building planning laws in the country.
