00:00We're moving into the recovery phase, so clean up is well and truly underway in our CBD down
00:08in Smithtown and Gladstone where homes were inundated. It's been fantastic to see fire
00:14and rescue teams from all over New South Wales just getting in there, helping our council crews
00:19clear out the rubbish. It's been quite devastating and confronting for our small businesses and our
00:24communities to see all of their belongings out on the street, but the clean up is happening quite
00:31quickly, which is pleasing to see. I'm really hoping to hear that there's going to be Cat C and
00:36Cat D funding. A lot of our homeowners and a lot of our businesses who were impacted didn't have
00:41insurance and they've lost in tens and in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars to this
00:47flood and having access to grant funding as opposed to loans will really help them rebuild and move
00:54forward. Do you have any people who are still isolated who are cut off by floodwaters? At the
00:59moment, Hat Head and Crescent Head are still isolated. As you can imagine, with just the level
01:06of disaster we've experienced, our road network has been severely damaged and it has also taken
01:11time for that water to recede. But our council crews are working really hard to assess all those roads,
01:17repair them and open them when they've been safe to do so. But it has been a long time isolation for
01:23some of our community and my heart really goes out to them in this troubling time.
01:27Well, how much help are you getting there? There are ADF personnel heading to the area to
01:32help out with the clean up. Is that enough or do you want more help on the ground?
01:37At the moment, the ADF isn't currently with us, but we do have SES crews from all over New South
01:42Wales as well as Fire and Rescue. But it would be really good to have the ADF here just to help
01:47with that clean up. The sheer amount of waste that's coming out of the CBD out of people's homes is
01:54is truly astounding. And just getting rid of that as quickly as possible is a huge priority,
02:00as well as that initial clean up of our roads. And our farmers have also been hit really hard
02:06and cleaning up some of those properties is going to take quite some time.
02:10So how are people coping then? Can you not just with the hard work, but also mentally?
02:16You know, these times can really bring out the best in people, but it can also bring out the worst.
02:21But I think I walked around our CBD today. I talked to business owners. I talked to
02:27Fire and Rescue Crews, sorry. And I've talked to community members and there's quite a feeling of
02:34solidarity. I think in our community in particular, we've experienced about 26 disasters in the last
02:4010 years and we know how we have to come together in these times. We have to help one another out
02:46because if help doesn't come, we've only got each other. So it's been really pleasing to see
02:50just people banding together, people getting in, people doing the hard work. So yeah, that's been
02:56really great to see. Supermarkets have been closed across Kempsey for the past few days, I understand.
03:02Kitty, do you know when they're likely to reopen? We're seeing our supermarkets open back up now.
03:09Unfortunately for one business, our central IGA, their supermarket was completely inundated with
03:16water. They lost hundreds of thousands in stock. They lost their delivery truck. And that's been
03:21really devastating. Woolworths, Coles and Aldi are now coming back open, which has been really good.
03:28So I think for about three or four days, we only had really tiny supermarkets servicing
03:34thousands of people. But as we've seen supermarkets come back open and our CBD as well,
03:40people are finally getting access to the supplies they need.
03:44Strong winds are forecast for the area later today. Another weather event for people to cope with.
03:50Is that something that people are preparing for now?
03:54Yeah. So yesterday afternoon, I went up to the SES with Minister McBain, Minister Staffan,
04:00and we were talking to the SES about the forecasts that are coming. Unfortunately, we've had a really
04:05wet few months, particularly here in the Kempsey Shire. And everywhere is completely just soaked with water.
04:12And with the forecasted high winds, sorry, we're just really nervous to see what trees that could bring
04:19down and what that will mean for people getting around the Shire.
04:24How is your house in all of this, Kenny?
04:27I've been lucky enough to fare pretty well. I live upriver, so I haven't been in much danger.
04:36So I've been trying to get out as much as possible, see my community, advocate for them as much as
04:42possible, because we're going to need a lot of help, not only now, but as recovery moves forward.
04:49As these events are quite acute. And in that acute phase, you do see lots of
04:56support in terms of fire and rescue in terms of the ADF coming. But I know as we move forward,
05:02it's just going to be a long road ahead and we're going to need to make sure we have everything in
05:06place so that we can rebuild, you know, particularly as it's a massive region that's been hit.
05:13So I do have concerns about competition for resources, about, you know, having access to
05:20the things we need so we can repair roads and different things like that.
05:25Kenny Ring, the Mayor of Kempsey, thank you for taking the time,
05:28a very busy time for you, we know, to speak to us. Thank you.
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