Promises to complete the bushfire clean-up in the Snowy Valleys by June 30 look unlikely to be met, with mayor James Hayes convinced it will take much longer.
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Cr Hayes said it would not be possible to get to the 472 registered properties before the initial deadline.
"It's not going to happen," he said.
Data provided to a Senate committee showed that as of May 20, 81 Snowy Valleys properties had been cleaned up, making up just 17 per cent of registered properties.
A Resilience NSW spokesperson told The Canberra Times on Friday a further 1000 properties registered for the government-funded clean-up had been cleared since that data was gathered.
"Laing O'Rourke has cleared approximately 2500 properties and have crews working across the state clearing about 300 properties a week," the spokesman said.
"Coordinating a safe, efficient and timely clean-up effort across the state was always going to be challenging considering the magnitude of the job."
Over 5000 properties are registered for the clean-up across the state.
I'm certain they're not going to make the 30 June deadline to get them all cleared.
- Cr James Hayes
While Cr Hayes said there was significant frustration within the Snowy Valleys community regarding the slow start for clean-up efforts following the Dunns Road fire, he said he was hearing positive things from community members who had since seen their properties cleared.
"There was frustration early when it took so long to get the machines on the ground," he said.
"I'm assured by the people on the ground and the people who have had their houses cleaned up that the people doing the clean-up are doing a terrific job at the moment."
Cr Hayes said he expected clean-up efforts to be ongoing long after June, and he was still hearing from people who were yet to register for assistance.
"I would encourage anyone, anyone who has been affect by the fire to register," he said.
"This fire's going to be ongoing for the next 30 years, if not longer, that's the way it is for us.
He said he hoped the remaining properties would be cleared soon to allow the community to move into the next stage of recovery.
"I'm certain they're not going to make the 30 June deadline to get them all cleared, but we're hoping that they're cleaned as soon as possible and the next part is people can start rebuilding," he said.
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