The NSW government will move to dismantle disaster agency Resilience NSW in the wake of a review into the state's record-breaking floods this year.
Resilience NSW was heavily criticised for its response to the floods in the Northern Rivers during February and March and was under review by a recent independent flood inquiry.
The recommendations of the inquiry, which was led by NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer Mary O’Kane and former police commissioner Mick Fuller, were handed to Premier Dominic Perrottet five days ago.
The inquiry was commissioned to investigate the preparation for, causes of and response to the catastrophic floods across NSW earlier this year.
The ABC understands a proposal to dismantle Resilience NSW will now be presented to cabinet.
Resilience NSW is led by former Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons and was only formed two years ago.
It was created by former premier Gladys Berejiklian after the 2019-2020 summer bushfires and was tasked with overseeing and coordinating all emergency efforts across NSW.
In June Mr Fitzsimmons defended the agency's efforts in helping flood evacuees but pointed out they were not a "24-hour organisation".
The future of Mr Fitzsimmons remains unclear.
Former Transport Minister Andrew Constance posted a video of support for Mr Fitzsimmons to his followers on social media.
"For goodness sake. This is a bloke who saved lives, was there for my community and our state during Black Summer, and I think he deserves a little bit better than this guys," Mr Constance posted on Thursday night.
Opposition Leader Chris Minns said he would support the dismantling of the agency, which is within the Department of Premier and Cabinet.
"I've got major concerns about Resilience NSW," he said.
"I think the evidence is overwhelming at this point that the massive bureaucracy that is Resilience NSW being placed on top of our emergency services has not worked."
Mr Minns said frontline agencies needed to make swift decisions with a single line of authority and he accused Resilience NSW of robbing the SES of resources.
"In an emergency, you've got a limited amount of time to make critical calls and you can't afford to have a situation where a public servant has to battle many levels of bureaucracy in order to save people's lives or save property."
A NSW government spokesperson said the flood inquiry report would be made public in the near future and recommendations were currently being considered.
"The report includes recommendations that will have impacts for communities, volunteers and first responders."
