After years of waiting for help, Liam and Rachel are cutting their Lismore home in half and moving to higher ground

Damning NSW auditor general’s report finds $100m scheme has not delivered a single home or lot since devastating 2022 floods

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Over the next month, Liam Bolitho and Rachel Rouse will remove decking, disconnect their electricity and air conditioners and clear the space underneath their North Lismore home.

In July, contractors will chainsaw the couple’s home of 10 years in half and load it into trucks. Then they’ll take the house – among more than 4,000 assessed as uninhabitable after 2022’s devastating floods – to a plot of land above the flood level.