The organisation tasked with leading NSW's response to disastrous floods and bushfires is more than just a new "layer of bureaucracy", its leader says.
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Resilience NSW Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons faced questions on on Wednesday about the agency's effectiveness, as many residents of flood-ravaged northern NSW remained without electricity six weeks after the first round of flooding.
Asked if the agency's creation in 2020 had led to more red tape around getting assistance to people in need, Mr Fitzsimmons told a budget estimates hearing it was the government's decision to create Resilience NSW.
He said the agency had assumed the roles and functions of the Office of Emergency Management, and was there to finesse the government's response.
"When is the government going to start learning lessons from these incidents?" committee member Walt Secord asked.
"You have another layer of bureaucracy that you've created," he said.
Mr Secord said Resilience NSW had been creating strategic plans but had failed to provide practical and physical help to flood-affected people.
"Let me just rewind a little there," the commissioner responded.
"I haven't created anything, the government created Resilience NSW.
"It's not a new concept. It's not a layer of bureaucracy. It's not anything that interferes.
"It's designed to actually provide a more streamlined and coordinated approach to pulling together the state's entire efforts in relation to recovery."
He said Resilience NSW currently had 49 staff members stationed throughout the Northern Rivers helping with flood recovery, including 11 of their 26 senior executives.
The agency has a total headcount of 245 staff members, including five deputies reporting to Mr Fitzsimmons.
In March, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet was asked if he would "get rid" of Resilience NSW, which was created under Gladys Berejiklian's leadership.
"It would be remiss of any government to not look at what went well, what could have been better, and make those improvements," he said.
"That is what I'm committed to doing."
The commissioner said the dislocation and damage in the Northern Rivers had created complex issues in reconnecting telecommunications and electricity.
"Because it takes six weeks to get electricity back ... is more reflective of the extraordinary environment and implications of the disaster than the effort and the resources being applied to do so," he said.
He added it was not the role of Resilience NSW to lead the disaster response in regards to issues like power restoration.
Australian Associated Press
