• 11 months ago
Craig Foster visits his hometown of Lismore.
Transcript
00:00 So I've been back home in Lismore where I grew up in my teenage years before going off to play football for a couple of weeks here
00:08 and it's just been magical to be back home and to see the way that the town is building back after the flood,
00:14 businesses back in the CBD and just looking today at how they're doing so, you know, the optimism that people have
00:21 and just speaking to some of the locals about one of the most extraordinary places, not just in Australia but in the world.
00:28 That's the back, you told me to tell Taz about how he was a banana grower and your dad was a GM.
00:34 All the doors are on easy hinges, I just pop them off and take them off site.
00:38 This is the 74 flood marker here, everything done was designed to be 600 above that, the flood water, but that was the 22 marker up on top there.
00:50 Salad with chicken on top, that's your portion of the jalapeno.
00:57 Yeah, Palin's, that's what I'm talking about, that's where we used to buy the Kiss records.
01:05 Classic.
01:08 Yeah, come on in.
01:12 Ah, they're singing here.
01:14 Oh, yeah, yeah.
01:19 If I haven't messed it up, me, the most clumsy person on earth, then you can go.
01:25 Ah, ha ha ha.
01:27 To create a community space for people to come and hang out.
01:31 It's beautiful.
01:38 Totally flood resilient.
01:43 I came up here randomly for a bit of a change and now I'm helping manage it.
01:49 And what about, so all of this flood resilient stuff?
01:53 Yeah, the flood was, if you're standing on the second story, it was sort of up to you.
01:58 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:00 Well, it's a feature wall by itself, so I said to Nick, let's do something a bit more different, so a texture coat.
02:08 Okay.
02:10 Acro-Tex, which really makes it stand out.
02:12 Instead of just being a normal window, like I said, you can be up here.
02:16 Alright, Steve Craig, the Mayor, mate, it's been good to have a look this morning around some of the Lismore businesses that are coming back.
02:24 And having been in town for a couple of weeks, you can really see the optimism and the energy here.
02:29 And you know what, like myself, people just absolutely love Lismore. I feel so strongly about being here.
02:35 Yeah, and we love the town and if you didn't love it, you wouldn't stay after everything that this city's been through.
02:41 Not only in '22, but also the flood before that in '17.
02:45 And to stand here and see another really great business in town coming back, not only as they were, but better than ever, it's just great.
02:55 And what's been a particular focus this morning, because people around the country know that Lismore's a cool place.
03:01 It's in the Northern Rivers, which is the most gorgeous place in Australia, bar none, and one of the most gorgeous places in the world.
03:08 It's the place to be, but also, you know, we remember the flood, it wasn't that long ago, but you see how everyone's flood-proofing all their businesses.
03:15 And that's the important part, right? Is it just concrete floors, they're ready for the next time, and people are back in business, they're doing well, and everyone's coming back to the town.
03:25 Yeah, and we call it industrial chic in Lismore, you know, the concrete floors, the exposed timber ceilings, you know, it's got a special feel to it.
03:34 But, as you say, it's flood resilient, if it ever goes again, we can hose out and be back and operating quickly.
03:42 Well, as I told you, you know, when we grew up, you know, many, many times we had to help our old man, you know, lift all the equipment out of his motor mechanic business down here, like people just know.
03:52 It's part of life here, but the community is so strong and loves the area so much and such great people here.
04:00 It's been good to spend a little bit of time here.
04:02 And what's the message to people in the rest, in the big smoke?
04:05 It's got to be get yourself up here, bring your family, come and do business here, get into the most beautiful part of Australia.
04:11 It is the most beautiful part of Australia, Craig, you're right.
04:14 And Lismore is open for business. There's so many opportunities here. As you say, bring your business here, relocate, get into the tree change.
04:23 There's plenty of opportunities, plenty of options for people to get here.
04:28 And, you know, we've just done a survey through the council.
04:31 We've got nearly 75% of our businesses back up and running, which is really, really good.
04:36 But we welcome new people to come to the area, move up here.
04:40 We've got great schools, great health facilities. It's a place to be and the most beautiful part of the country.
04:46 Without doubt.
04:47 So it's been a great morning back here in my hometown of Lismore, meeting with some of the businesses and having a look, of course, at the sporting facilities and the ones that I used when I grew up.
05:05 And sport in the country is such a central part of community life.
05:09 It's why so many incredible athletes come out of regional areas, many out of here, including the great Adam Gilchrist and Lisa Casagrande and many, many others.
05:18 At Oaks Oval here, all upgrades to these facilities are wonderful.
05:23 And Crozier Oval there with new change rooms and professional quality infrastructure here as well for all of our sporting clubs and associations and federations around the country.
05:35 Get yourselves up here and support the Lismore area.
05:38 We all know what happened a couple of years ago, but I think you can see from this video this morning about how much the how much energy there is in the area.
05:47 People coming back, coming back to the area, businesses back in town. And you know what?
05:52 Spending a couple of weeks up here again after quite a few years has just been absolutely magical.
05:57 It's an incredible area. And don't forget, of course, this is the base and always has been for the most extraordinary era of the Northern Rivers.
06:05 Byron Bay is just over there. Ballina is just over there. Lennox is just over there. Bangalore is just there. Nimbin is right there. It's all here.
06:13 So if you want to get out of the big smoke and come up to a beautiful area, get yourself up here to Lismore and come and meet some of the most beautiful people that you ever will.
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