THE waters now receding from the Hunter Valley township of Broke are exposing the damage done by what will go down in history as the worst flood in the region for some 70 years.
As we have reported this week, sinkholes have opened up across the river plain, and a substantial section of Broke Road, just north of the town, has collapsed, creating considerable inconvenience for residents.
Broke is not isolated, but the loss of Broke Road as a thoroughfare has added another 10 minutes to the half-hour drive north to Singleton, and it has isolated the town from the nearby Bulga open-cut coalmine, on the other side of the missing section of road.
Herald investigations have shown the collapsed road is not the only problem.
At the risk of embarrassing the NSW government to which he belongs, National Party Upper Hunter MP Dave Layzell is demanding the Back Home grant system be opened to the flood affected residents of Broke.
Mr Layzell points out that the Back Home grants of up to $20,000 have been made available to residents in various flood-affected areas including Lismore, and says residents of Broke are suffering just as badly.
All government assistance schemes have limits - the JobKeeper payments to profitable companies during the COVID lockdowns show what happens when oversight is lacking - but floodwaters are floodwaters, no matter where in the country they are.
Mr Layzell is also concerned about the time it looks as if it will take to repair Broke Road, based on the responses from Singleton Council.
Citing the time to "comply with our design and procurement policies", when we are talking about the need to urgently repair an important local road is probably not the answer that residents want to hear.
Especially when residents see Bulga and its fleet of heavy machinery constantly moving mountains and building roads across a complex mining site, and know contractors could fix the damaged section of Broke Road in short order if the will was there.
If the council is determined to take its time then a temporary road could be built around the collapsed section, even if, as Mr Layzell has said, there may be issues with land ownership and access.
Long-term planning is always preferable, but sometimes a short-term fix is unavoidable. After all, it's only a road.
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