He said the government would work with communities to assess the damage and boost their resilience “for the long haul”, but he was determined “not to repeat the mistakes of the past”.

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“I’ve seen these programs, even with the best of intentions, be implemented and not actually work, or apply to just a small number of people, or the money runs out before it can make a difference.

“We need to make sure that whatever is approved for the Mid North Coast and the Upper Hunter region works. That’s going to take a little bit of time.”