Victims of the New Lambton landslip are being left in limbo, as City of Newcastle (CN) fights to get the state government to step in.
On 23 May, 15 homes were evacuated following a significant landslide, which caused irreparable damage to many properties across Russell Road, Victoria Street, Baker Street and Portland Place.
Due to the incident, 39 adults and children were displaced from their residences and forced to find emergency accommodation elsewhere, with no indication of when they would be able to return.
It’s understood it was the direct result of an NSW East Coast Severe Weather Event beginning on 18 May, which was declared a natural disaster by the state government.
Just last month, Lord Mayor Ross Kerridge and council CEO Jeremy Bath met with Local Emergency Operation Controller (LEOCON) officials and the Deputy Regional Recovery Coordinator (Hunter), who are leading the command and management of the emergency response, to discuss the landslip.
In their meeting, the Regional Recovery Committee, established by the NSW Reconstruction Authority (RA) in response to the natural disaster, explicitly stated it would not assist in the remediation of the New Lambton precinct.
On 17 June, councillors stated there “is no clear rationale as to why RA has responded comprehensively in other regions by declining to support a community within the second-largest city in NSW”.
Despite the landslip being directly caused by the natural disaster, the committee advised it wouldn’t lead or coordinate recovery efforts.
It was also stated that “without state coordination or support, there will be considerable burden placed on local government and affected residents will be left without a defined recovery pathway”.
One of the impacted residents, Laura, said they were informed on 3 June by LEOCON a geo-technical exploration of the site, expected to take 16-to-20 weeks, would begin shortly.
“The information was very much that the investigation was starting from that point,” she explained.
“Maybe I’m naïve, but I understood that was kind of already in play.
“And, obviously, it’s been a month and that investigation hadn’t started, so we’re still looking at 16-to-20 weeks from whenever it starts.”
An email was sent to locals, by LEOCON, stating a quotation for the investigation had been prepared but was currently awaiting approval due to legal complications.
“Until it starts, we’re in this weird limbo phase where we can’t really move on or know what’s happening next,” Laura said.
“So, it’s really unsettling and frustrating.
“And, in the meantime, for the homeowners what that means… is that we have no rights to be in our house.
“Which is hard because we don’t know how to navigate this when we don’t have a timeline.
“Do we get a six-month or a 12-month rental, what do we do with our furniture, and how do we liaise with our insurance companies?
“It’s just really complicated and the longer it takes, the more stressful it gets.”
The Newcastle Weekly reached out to CN for comment, to which they agreed it was still a “waiting game”.
“City of Newcastle was one of several agencies that supported the emergency response, under the direction of the Local Emergency Operations Controller (LEOCON), NSW Police Acting Commander Detective Superintendent, Steven Benson,” a council spokesperson said.
“The response was coordinated through the Newcastle Local Emergency Operations Centre, which was activated to provide a central location to coordinate the emergency response and has since been formally stood down.
“The Local Emergency Operations Controller and City of Newcastle continue to liaise and manage the danger area and coordinate responses to affected residents.
“We have received a preliminary geotechnical report and are preparing the first phase of the detailed geotechnical investigation.
“We continue to await formal advice from the NSW Reconstruction Authority about them taking on responsibility for leading the recovery effort.”
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