2026-02-18
Member for Ballina Tamara Smith MP says the approval of the GemLife development on flood-prone land in West Ballina highlights a deeper and ongoing failure to protect communities from inappropriate development on floodplains.
“After everything our community has endured, we are still approving new housing on land we know goes under water,” Ms Smith said.
“This isn’t a ‘Gem’ for our community. It’s a jackpot for developers who can afford to litigate, and a long-term liability for locals.”
110 seniors dwellings are now set to be built in West Ballina, a suburb that experienced some of the worst effects of the 2022 floods and where locals report sky rocketing insurance premiums.
“For years, my NSW Greens colleagues and I have consistently called for development to be prohibited on high-risk floodplains. We have pushed for planning reforms that put climate risk, safety and community wellbeing ahead of developer profits.”
Ms Smith has advocated for:
- Stronger restrictions on floodplain development
- Ending the use of fill to artificially elevate land in flood-prone areas
- Embedding climate risk and adaptation as mandatory considerations in all developments
- Buybacks, relocations and genuine risk avoidance strategies following the 2022 floods
Quotes attributable to Tamara Smith MP, Member for Ballina:
“The climate science is clear and Northern Rivers communities are on the front line -flood events are becoming more frequent and more severe. Yet we continue to approve projects that jeopardise existing residents and lock future communities into known risk.”
“The current system allows developers to navigate planning frameworks while local communities are left carrying the long-term financial, environmental and emotional risks”.
“When developments go ahead on floodplains, the profits are privatised but the risks are shared”.
“We owe it to our community to stop creating tomorrow’s flood victims today.”