Squatters living in formerly vacant, water-damaged homes will be forcibly evicted as the clean-up begins from the latest spate of floods in northern New South Wales.
Chris Minns vowed on Tuesday to evict “overseas visitors, tourists, backpackers” who he said were taking advantage of condemned properties left empty after being included in a state buyback scheme for Lismore homes after the 2022 floods.
“We bought those houses so that we could keep communities safe … and to have squatters move in off the back of that is completely unacceptable,” the premier told reporters. “The housing problems are not going to be solved by moving people into flood-prone land.
“We have to draw a line in the sand here and that means demolishing those houses and ensuring that we can get on with life in the northern rivers.”
About 40 people have been living in eight flood-ravaged homes near Lismore’s city centre and the premier said eviction notices had been served to no avail.
The squatters had tried to jump the queue to access social housing during talks with government officials about leaving the properties, Minns said.
The homes would be replaced by green space after the demolition.
Evacuation centres are due to shut as the latest emergency threat for the region winds down, with flood waters from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred receding.
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Minns previously said they couldn’t serve as a long-term fix to entrenched housing problems in the region, which has the highest numbers of rough sleepers in the state.
More than 50 emergency crews were out in the Tweed region finishing damage assessments, with four properties deemed uninhabitable due to water damage.
About 7,500 homes and businesses were still not connected to power as heavy rain continued to fall in many areas.
Major flood warnings have been lifted for most areas, except parts of the Richmond River.
