Reclaim Our Recovery - ROR

27/05/2026

Such a lot of great movie concepts came out of those halcyon days. Like this one - it had a certain style, in the end missed out on the Oscar, but only just.

18/05/2026

In the future precinct plans for Lismore, the only certainty will be that there will be no residential use of buyback land. This was pretty much what we expected, albeit with some grey areas such as commercial residential e.g. hotels and shoptop housing in commercial precincts.
One interesting comment that left a sour taste was the following from the Minister for Recovery “The Resilient Homes Program has already given hundreds of families across our regions certainty and peace of mind".
Many of those families, might challenge the choice of the verb given, one that in the context of that sentence implies a generous and freely handed over gift. Those who battled to get a buyback or appealed multiple times without success; those who were rejected; those who scraped together the funds to relocate their houses facing often multiple year journeys fraught with uncertainty and barriers of all kinds; those who were forced to buyback on the flood plain or who left Lismore for more affordable towns or moved back with family or on to the rental market. That statement washes away the complexity and the struggle, the failures and the insults, the trauma and the inconsistencies.
Davod Witherden the head of the NRRC, said back in 2022, that failure wasn't an option. It seems that what that really meant, was failure would never be admitted. This is not to deny that some people have finally achieved certainty and peace of mind, although it was hard won and it was their achievement.
At some point unless there is transparency, so the failures as well as the successes are held up to the light, how can we plan to do better in future.

Your local digital newspaper

11/05/2026

People taking non-violent opportunity to present their concerns about the imminent increase in defence spending and Australian government response to genocide at the office of the Treasurer.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1bQocdnkvn/

Around thirty protesters, including members of Northern Rivers For Palestine, said this morning they’d occupied the electorate office of Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

21/04/2026

Well well well, the Director of Reconstruction for the RA, has figured out what ROR and the community have been saying for years. "The RLP doesn't pass the pub test". If you could bear to sign up to the Lismore App, you could read the whole article.

Many folks who are or were in Nth and Sth Lismore back in 2023, will remember the rally organised outside the offices in Carrington St, when the famous phone calls had just been sent. We invited everyone to make a submission to the RLS draft.

Three years later the RA wakes up, is it ever too late for the truth!

Your local digital newspaper

16/04/2026

Everything is not as rosy as the RA would have you believe. https://youtu.be/wNVXltX5YD4?

where lismore houses go to die

27/01/2026

Bit if a long read- but worth it, if you are interested in democracy, and why not?

https://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/how-to-start-a-revolution-in-2026/?

Ordinary people can run society — but only if we build the structures to let them.

07/01/2026

Have you got a flood story of bureacratic mismanagement, dodgy deals, hilarious stuff ups. Let us know. [email protected]

20/11/2025

It’s sad and frustrating to see the waste that has resulted from the
governments response to the floods. $1000s of dollars of solar panels and solar hot water to be crunched as this demolition takes place now in North Lismore. Let alone all the other Salvageable materials- particularly the stand alone granny flat that could home someone.

The irony of course Is that renewable electricity - if it offsets fossil fuel energy - could help mitigate the Global Heating that is making floods worse. Yet here in a flood response renewable energy is being demolished. Similarly housing is being destroyed in a housing crisis.

If the community had a genuine say in the flood recovery, would we have ended up here?

NSW Reconstruction Authority Janelle Saffin - Member for Lismore Lismore City Council

09/11/2025

Australia arms Israel and they continue to lie about it Ferra Engineering is complicit

Breaking News: Activists have locked on this morning at Ferra Engineering, 344 New Cleveland Rd, Tingalpa. All supporters should head down to support 🇵🇸

15/08/2025

The real problem . . .