Questions & Answers

  • Determining our future and how we will get there are the most important decisions facing Lismore right now.

    Recognising this we are implementing the widest most comprehensive engagement program across many channels and formats to make sure that everyone in the community have their voice and view heard.

    We are going to ask our community what their hopes, dreams, priorities, questions, and concerns are for the future.

    But we are mindful that people often wonder who is listening to that. So, we are committed to taking the time and effort and look to the community for input and innovation on the way forward.

    Over the next six to eight months, we want to hear from everyday locals, organisations, and experts to understand what matters most now and for generations to come. All contributions gathered through the community engagement process will be considered and come together in a Community Vision and Blueprint. Every voice and view will be important.

    This comprehensive engagement approach means that we reach and hear from individuals, and organisations beyond the same small number of views and voices that traditional engagement methods tend to attract.

  • We are facing critical decisions about Lismore’s future.

    Over two years on from the biggest flood in modern Australian history, a community that continues to live and operate in a floodplain must now make decisions to protect itself from future risks, including difficult decisions about mitigation or adaptation.

    Making these decisions and creating a pathway forward will provide the much-needed certainty and safety that the local community, businesses, schools, and organisations are seeking so that they can plan their future.

    There are so many very different – but equally strongly held – views in the community and there are many complex technical issues that need to be considered as we navigate the future for Lismore. It is because of this we are developing a comprehensive engagement process that incorporates extensive community feedback along with leading technical expertise.

  • While we know that not everything and everybody is back where they want to be, the time is now for our community to tell us what matters most so together there is a shared vision and plan for individuals, institutions, organisations, and government.

    Following extensive delays and uncertainty, we know that the way forward must put the community at the centre of the discussions and debates about the future and have local leadership.

    Individuals, business and community organisations and leaders have called for certainty about the future of Lismore - the time is now for us to come together and plan for the Lismore we want tomorrow.

  • Council will be making decisions about the future of Lismore, but we are one voice and we want as many voices as possible.

    Given that determining the future of Lismore for generations to come is one of the most significant decisions to be made, it is important that all the community have an opportunity to have a voice and put their view forward.

    To do this we need to reach beyond the traditional engagement approach and that tends to attract the same small number of voices and views.

    We recognise that any decision around a long-term vision for Lismore will draw major criticism and mistrust regardless of which option is pursued. It is challenging to find agreement on answers to challenges faced even in a normal situation. In these circumstances, it is essential we consider all views to build common ground on a vision for the future that resolves the core challenges facing this community.

    The comprehensive engagement process will be designed to complement the work of elected representatives by leveraging all voices and views and evidence to make complex, often controversial but trusted decisions.

  • Discussions and decisions made in the Vision and Blueprint process will be technical in nature.

    To address this, we will be engaging and hearing from a range of experts and accessing expert sources of information. We also will be creating technical workstreams and technical advisory teams in key areas including flood modelling, flood mitigation options assessments, and traffic and transport impact modelling.

    CSIRO is a Commonwealth scientific agency who undertake work at a national scale or on an industry/topic specific level. They have advised that they refrain from imposing on local decision making and actively support locally led placed based approach.

    We are in discussions with CSIRO to support the development of the Community Vision and Blueprint for Lismore by taking on a range of roles including Trusted Advisor, Coordinator of Experts and Researcher. These roles and input from CSIRO will complement the work they are doing on flood mapping for the Northern Rivers region.

  • The Lismore Vision and Blueprint is the largest and most significant engagement process we have undertaken. This comprehensive community wide engagement program and input from specialist and technical advisors including the CSIRO will cost over $200,000 so more than the traditional Council engagement program.

    This investment may sound like a lot, but we are making a multi-billion-dollar decision that affects a lot of people’s homes and livelihoods, making it an important investment.

  • We have secured some grant funding from the NSW Government through the NSW Reconstruction Authority. We are also leveraging grant funding from the NSW Government Office of Local Government Capacity and Capability Roadmap grant.

    Council is contributing in-kind through staff resources.

  • We will have a diverse range of options for everyone to have a voice. This includes over 150 consultations and forums for the community to attend, along with a survey, that aim to encourage everyone in the community to contribute their view: questions you want to see answered, hopes and aspirations for the solution, experts you think should be considered and the values and criteria you would prioritise when making a decision about the future for Lismore.

    A full calendar of events will be shared soon. To stay up to date on news, upcoming engagement events and ways to get involved, sign up to our newsletter here so you don’t miss a thing. Or have your voice heard by completing the survey here.

  • All input from the community consultation will inform a Community Vision and Blueprint to provide certainty and clarity on the future of Lismore.

    The Community Vision and Blueprint will be available to public to use as well as presented to Lismore City Council, the NSW State Government and the Federal Government.

  • In much of our work, Lismore City Council tend to prepare a recommended course of action and invite comment. We also have Council officers as the first point of response and analysis for the contributions we receive, who then provide a summary for elected Councillors.

    The comprehensive engagement approach being developed will ensure we reach and hear from individuals, and organisations beyond the same small number of views and voices that traditional engagement methods tend to attract.

    Our approach is a collaborative one and we will look to you for advice and innovation in formulating solutions and incorporate your advice and recommendations into the decisions to the maximum extent possible.

  • The Stakeholder Reference Group brings together a diverse range of groups, associations, and institutions as an integral part of the comprehensive engagement program to discuss and develop the future of Lismore.

    The Stakeholder Reference Group plays an important role in reaching beyond the same small number of views and voices that traditional engagement tends to attract and provides one of the ways to offer a fair hearing and time for deep consideration of different points of view.

    The role of the Stakeholder Reference Group includes:

    • Reviewing the method for any biases, as we will transparently share the end-to-end process before we start

    • Making a case for the future of Lismore

    • Recommending sources of information and experts that you think need to be heard from as we make this decision

    Participants on this Group must be representatives of an organisation. If you would like to nominate a group, association or institution to be included, please email lismorenow@lismore.nsw.gov.au.

  • In July 2022 The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) engaged Australia’s national science agency CSIRO to support the Northern Rivers Resilience Initiative to help the Australian Government understand the drivers behind the region’s unprecedented flood events in February-March 2022 and develop community-supported solutions for flood mitigation and resilience investment. This Initiative will consider climate, catchment and hydrological systems, and the broader influences of land-use practice and infrastructure with detailed modelling to be undertaken through to June 2025.

    We continue to support this important ongoing work being undertaken by CSIRO and receive regular updates. CSIRO will also be making the LiDAR and bathymetry data sets for the modelling available by mid-2024. This enables all seven Local Government Areas across the Northern Rivers to access and use the data for their own future flood-mitigation planning and model building purposes.

    The Vision and Blueprint brings together community aspirations and technical expertise, including CSIRO, to develop a local and informed future to provide certainty and safety.

  • There are two critical outputs of the Vision and Blueprint.

    Vision Statement: a single unifying statement that reflects the values and aspirations of the community as to their desired future.

    Blueprint: a series of strategies that provide direction on key issues including:

    Economic and Investment Strategy

    1. Land Use Strategy

    2. Integrated Transport Strategy

    3. Human Impact Strategy

    4. Environmental Sustainability Strategy

    5. Climate Change Strategy

    6. Funding Strategy

  • The Lismore Vision and Blueprint sets a way forward to provide the community with certainty and safety about the future. The local community, businesses, schools, organisations and Council can then use this information to make decisions and plans. For Council this includes the development of the Community Strategic Plan and supporting Delivery and Operational Plan and other related strategies.

  • Developing a Vision and Blueprint for Lismore is critical to provide the certainty and safety for the community. To ensure we have the opportunity to hear the many views and voices in the community and address the complex technical issues, creating a Vision and Blueprint for Lismore will take time.

    We are developing a broad and comprehensive engagement program and will be engaging a range of technical experts to guide the process over the months ahead. To stay up to date on news, upcoming engagement events and ways to get involved, sign up to our newsletter here so you don’t miss a thing.

    Council will continue to deliver services and programs including reconstruction projects while the Vision and Blueprint is underway.

  • Living Lab Northern Rivers (a program of Southern Cross University, University of Technology Sydney and the NSW Reconstruction Authority), are undertaking an independent process called Look Ahead. This project operates independently of the Vision and Blueprint process. However, it will provide an important piece of work for our consideration, focusing on the Lismore CBD and its surrounding neighbourhoods, which sit in high-risk flood zones and have significant residential buyback activity.