Food and supplies may need to be parachuted in west of the river

As the flood crisis continues and those west of the river start to run out of food and essential supplies, MP Susan Templeman is calling for goods to be flown in – and presumably parachuted in – or sent by boat.

With both bridges across the Hawkesbury River flooded and closed and likely to remain that way for a while, supplies would normally be trucked in via Bells Line of Road but regular landslides have seen the major arterial road closed for long periods every day.

Couple that with panic buying in major stores in North Richmond, the like of which hasn’t been seen since the early days of the Covid pandemic, and supplies are running extremely low.

Essentials including milk and bread are in very short supply – with no new deliveries on shelves today – Monday.

MP Susan Templeman talked on radio station 2GB this morning about the possible need to airlift supplies in or send them across the river by boat.

“I contacted Coles today after hearing of the shortages of bread and milk,” Ms Templeman told the Post this evening.

“They advised me that they had two truck loads of stock ready to go in, but they hadn’t been able to get there. This was very concerning to me because it was easy to imagine what it’s like for a mum not have the basics for her kids, and for an older person not to have milk for a cup of tea. It’s pretty basic stuff.”

Ms Templeman said her office then raised the issue with NSW Resilience staff, reinforcing the essential nature of fresh food, and urging them to consider food drops.

“There must be a way, by air or river, to support this isolated community,” Ms Templeman said.

“Since then, I’ve been made aware that there are shortages of nappies and baby supplies, so I think it’s vital that there’s an assessment of what’s needed across the river and that those supplies are sent in urgently and fairly distributed.”

As you’re here…

Please help us continue to provide quality daily online news as it happens. Support Hawkesbury Post from as little as one dollar, right here.