Anger as residents in flooded NSW areas not eligible for disaster payments

Residents who have been left with "nowhere to live" in the Tweed, Byron and Ballina shires weren't included in an extension of payments announced by the federal government yesterday. Key points: Most of the homes damaged or destroyed by floods in northern NSW are in Lismore The Prime Minister today said his government was looking at how it could extend support to other regions not included in its package announced yesterday NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet today announced a housing package for people affected by floods in the northern rivers Premier Dominic Perrottet says 2,800 homes have been deemed uninhabitable and 5,500 were declared "damaged" by flooding in northern NSW. Despite those three areas recording more damaged homes than the Clarence Valley and Richmond Valley LGAs, they were not included in the Prime Minister's announcement of two extra Commonwealth disaster payments for flood-affected residents. "The three LGAs identified as being most impacted takes into account a number of factors including the proportion of the population estimated to be in the flood area, the extent of the flood area, the percentage of the population who have sought assistance through the Disaster Recovery Payment and the number of residential homes that have been rated as moderately or severely damaged, or destroyed," the statement said.