POLICE are pouring resources into Australia’s flood-ravaged towns to prevent a breakdown in law and order after two men were arrested for alleged looting.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Peter Thurtell said extra officers were on the beat in NSW’s mid-north coast and Hunter regions after the men, both aged 20, were arrested for allegedly stealing property amid flood clean up.
“If we find anyone taking advantage of this community we’ll throw the book at them,” Deputy Commissioner Peter Thurtell said in a statement on Monday.
“The impact of this weather event has been unimaginable and to think they now have to be concerned about hanging on to whatever property they have left is a disgrace.
“Stealing from people vulnerable during hard times like these is un-Australian.”
The warning comes as military personnel descend on regions hit by the natural disaster that has cost five lives and kept about 12,000 people isolated.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said 70 Australian Defence Force personnel had been dispatched to help with recovery and mop-up efforts.
“The presence of ADF personnel on the ground brings enormous confidence to communities that are really doing it tough,” said Mr Albanese, who arrived on the Mid North Coast on Tuesday.
“It’s a sign of how seriously we, as a nation, are taking what is a catastrophic event.”
Another 100 personnel, mostly military veterans from non-government group Disaster Relief Australia, and volunteers from grassroots groups are also expected to join the clean up.
At the peak of the flooding, 50,000 people were isolated while the number of homes deemed uninhabitable rose to almost 800 on Tuesday.
Affected locals have been picking up muddied possessions and surveying damage, while drones have been used to drop hay to isolated farms and for aerial welfare checks at properties.
Nadia Zarb, artist and gallery owner in Taree, one of the worst-hit towns, said she could not have coped without community support.
“We’ve got the best community, we’ve got the support around us and I couldn’t ask for anything more,” she told AAP.
Michael Kemp, state MP for Oxley, which covers four local government areas on the mid-north coast, said it was tough seeing “people’s livelihoods on the side of the kerb”.
Insurers have so far received more than 4000 claims.
The crisis has prompted federal-state natural disaster recovery arrangements, including small loans for business, which have been activated for 19 local government areas.
“I can assure everybody on the mid-north coast that those agencies are working around the clock to get those communities back up on their feet,” NSW Premier Chris Minns said.
But NSW Nationals leader Dugald Saunders said farmers needed more than loans to help recover from the disaster.
“What they need is a helping hand in the form of a grant to enable them to uplift their business,” Mr Saunders told AAP in Taree.
“The feeling is a little bit starting to get angry now as people wonder where the support actually is.”
By Sam MCKEITH, AAP
