In short:
Homes affected by the River Murray flood event in 2022 are still waiting for repairs.
asserted
Homes → affect → repairs
The SA and federal governments have committed funding to help cover the travel expenses of rural or regional apprentices travelling long distances to keep them on the job.
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governments → commit → job
For almost four years, Jamie Bruce has been sleeping on a fold-out couch.
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Bruce → sleep → couch
Their family home at Morgan was inundated by floodwater during South Australia's third-largest River Murray flood in 2022, just 10 months after moving in.
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home → inundate → 2022
It destroyed the lower level of the home, washing away Jamie's bedroom and identity.
"
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It → destroy → bedroom
I was just starting to decorate the walls and get things to a state where the space was me," they said.
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they → start → state
Jamie Bruce is still sleeping on a fold-out couch waiting for the house repairs to be finished. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
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repairs → sleep → couch
"Then I watched my little dragons that were on the wall slowly disappear under the water.
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that → watch → water
Floodwaters peaked at 186 gigalitres a day, leaving only concrete and wooden cladding behind in Jamie's bedroom.
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Floodwaters → peak → bedroom
"It looks like Armageddon in here,"Jamie said.
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It → look → Armageddon
The family's staircase is being held up by two wooden panels.
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staircase → hold → panels
Tradie and insurance 'nightmare'
Jamie's mum, Kay Bruce, describes the first 12 months following the flood as "a nightmare".
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mum → describe → nightmare
The family spent five of those months living out of a friend's large tin shed.
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family → spend → shed
"Thinking about [that time] now still brings tears to my eyes," Ms Bruce said.
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Bruce → think → eyes
Frustrated by the delay for their insurer to send out a tradie, the family took a payout so they could source their own workers.
"[I had] so many phone calls where they would never come back to me," she said.
uncertain
she → send → me
Kay Bruce says the situation has taken a mental and physical toll on her family.
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situation → say → family
"I've got a spreadsheet, and it shows just name after name after name."
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it → get → name
Despite trying to project-manage the rebuild, after three years Ms Bruce was still yet to have a tradesperson follow through and do the job.
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tradesperson → try → job
"I can't understand when people make arrangements to come and do work or make quotes and then just don't turn up, don't phone you, don't text you," she said.
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she → understand → you
"I feel like we are just treading water and are in limbo … we just want to get back to some resemblance of how things were."
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things → feel → resemblance
Her husband, Rob Bruce, said that while the process had been exhausting for the whole family, it came with a level of guilt.
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it → say → guilt
"We have friends that lost their entire place and they're still in the caravan park whilst their houses are being built," Mr Bruce said.
"
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Bruce → have → park
We'd feel bad knowing that our place was all done and they're still in the caravan park waiting."
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they → feel → park
With the cost of materials to build a home spiking in recent years, Mr Bruce said the family felt trepidation about the future.
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family → build → future
"It worries me that it's going to be a hit for us [to rebuild]," he said.
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he → worry → me
Material costs through the roof
The cost to build a new home in South Australia has risen by almost 40 per cent since 2021, according to the Insurance Council of Australia.
uncertain
cost → build → Australia
It is something social policy, climate and international engagement manager Alix Pearce says is a growing national issue.
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Pearce → say → ?
"The average cost to build a home has increased 30 per cent nationally over the last five years, which considerably outstrips inflation at 24 per cent,"she said.
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which → build → cent,"she
"We're seeing this [rise] in materials and labour costs, too; for example, roof tiles have gone up 77 per cent over the last five years."
Alix Pearce says governments need to increase investment in resilience to build stronger homes.
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governments → see → homes
(ABC News: Greg Bigelow)
Ms Pearce said state and federal governments needed to do more to uplift their investment in housing resilience and address tradie shortages across the country.
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governments → say → country
"The cost of extreme weather is rising considerably … last year disasters drove $4 billion worth of insured losses,"she said.
"
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disasters → rise → losses,"she
We need to see increased investment in trades and construction, particularly in those high-risk areas in Australia.
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We → need → Australia
In South Australia, about 20,000 workers are required over the next five years to meet major project and housing demand, according to a state government spokesperson.
uncertain
workers → require → spokesperson
The spokesperson said it has committed $11 million over the next two years, alongside the federal government, to help the travel expenses of rural or regional apprentices travelling long distances to keep them on the job.
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it → say → job
Master Builders Australia projects a worker shortage of 935,600 by 2035.
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Australia → project → 2035
"The new measure will support an additional 400 regional apprentices and trainees to undertake their training," the statement said.
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statement → support → training
It also said it is building three new technical colleges, including in Murray Bridge, and a new TAFE Trades Workshop in Mount Barker, which aims to support 1,200 additional construction trade apprentices.
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which → say → apprentices
Andrew Johnson says council reserves and infrastructure are still being rebuilt and revegetated following the flood event.
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reserves → say → event
Mid Murray Council chief executive Andrew Johnson said any commitment is welcome as his regional community continues to recover from the 2022-23 flood while experiencing trade shortages.
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community → say → shortages
"We have a number of open spaces and reserves along the river that still need to be rehabilitated [post-flood] and still need irrigation systems put back in," he said.
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he → have → river
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia