Volunteers have driven the flood response and recovery in Lismore since calls to Triple Zero started going unanswered on the night of February 27 last year., Lismore's Tinny Army pulled off what could be considered one of Australia's greatest search and rescue missions.
As Lismore's recovery stretches from months into years, other climate change-exacerbated natural disasters have already unfolded across the country, and will continue to. "There really needs to be a focus from government to ensure that adequate funding is prioritised for communities to be able to drive their own recoveries," Bird said.
Crystal and her family sleep in the caravan and have built a makeshift kitchen and bathroom in the garage. Some days Lenane says she feels like selling up and leaving Lismore altogether, but that thought is quickly quashed by the financial ramifications."You're stuck here. You can't sell. You will owe money to the bank if you sell now. You're stuck to rebuild as well. There's not much hope.""Everyone had this adrenaline at the beginning, like, 'Yes! We love the town and we want to rebuild'... but the reality is it's really hard and everyone is tired.