Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin joined our podcast series Talking Lismore (Podcasts) to chat about issues that are affecting the Lismore electorate, including the local council elections, the Norco milk e-petition and the possible insurance solution, not just for Lismore but for the Northern Rivers.

Ms Saffin said the September local council elections were "peaceful and friendly".

"Everybody was rather friendly when I was giving out some how-to votes. Everyone was friendly, laughing, talking, it was good. I think we're good at elections and the way we do them here."

What about the Lismore results, was it good to have consistency this election?

"I think it is a good thing because we've had such a battering over the last few years, from the fires to Covid to the mammoth floods. So consistency is a good thing. People know what's going on, know what needs to be done. But there is a little bit of new blood, too, so that just adds to it.

Harper Dalton-Earls led the Labor ticket in Lismore. He will be one of two fresh faces for Labor; Jasmine Knight-Smith was the other newly elected councillor.

"Harper's very sensible, and this is new to him, but I watched him during the floods, and the way he was able to work with people when he set up that Facebook group, Meta group, about relocating houses and the way he engaged with people. He didn't let himself be pulled one way or the other. He's very sensible in the way he dealt with all of that and engaged with the community. He got a lot of votes over south."

The e-petition to reinstate Norco as the milk supplier for hospitals across the North Coast and Mid-North Coast regions of NSW is not as strong as Ms Saffin would like. The e-petition needs to reach 20,000 signatures, where it has to be debated in parliament.

"It's attracted about 3,000. I thought it might have got more than that, because we all love Norco, and I have promoted it. The more we get, the better. I know the other members of parliament, state members for the north and north coast, they've got a petition as well."

"I had a meeting with the Minister for Health. I mean, I've said some very strong words to the Minister for Health about all of this and to Health. We have had a meeting, though, and Norco was in that meeting.

Why can't the government just change its mind as it did in 2018?

"Well, that's the question I've put (forward). Just change it, and if it costs a bit of money, so be it. Just do it. You changed the ground rules because we didn't know it was going to be a statewide contract, whereas it hadn't been before. "

It is a simple process to sign the e-petition. Go to Janelle Saffin's website or Facebook page, or click here.

"When people sign it, get someone else to sign it, pass it on. The more that we get on it, the better. But we'll keep advocating on it. I hope to win it. I don't like to lose things like this, but if it doesn't get reversed, I just want to make sure that we go to local content with other contracts coming up and in future."

Ms Saffin had a 100-page document in front of her that would form the basis of a submission to the Federal Parliamentary Inquiry into Insurance. Does this document mean we have hope?

"We've always got hope. That's why we've got this report because this report formed the basis of a submission to the federal parliamentary inquiry into insurance, that was established post-2022 flood. People will recall they came to Lismore. Kevin Hogan sat on that for that time.

"When we had the NRRC, we all talked about how we should do an insurance report looking at Lismore as the case study, but it can be applied anywhere across our region or other places that flood a lot. I said we don't want a report that just sits on a shelf. I fashioned the report so that it becomes the submission to the inquiry, then it's more useful.

"It went forward on behalf of the community leaders. So the four state MPs, two federal MPs, seven mayors, we put it forward. Whether we agreed with everything in it or not, it didn't matter. That was the submission we put forward. It gave voice to the Northern Rivers.

"We came up with six recommendations. But basically, most of Lismore, particularly the flat area, does not fit into the affordable insurance, and we know that already. That's why we're being priced out of insurance because they do what they call reflective risk pricing. So it's based on the risk, and that means it's going up. It went up 48% across Australia, and Lismore's, on average, was about 36%. Everyone feels that pain. If you are up the hill, it's still gone up, so it's not just down on the flats.

The options Ms Saffin discusses in Talking Lismore include the Parametrics scheme. This is where a group of people or businesses get together and agree that if an event happens at this height or this damage level, you will pay this much. The money is paid within 24-48 hours, so you can start building straight away.

Then there is the Cyclone Pool type model, which is used in the north of Australia and is the option recommended by the submission.

To be eligible for the Cyclone Pool, you have to be in a cyclone area, but the submission argues that three of Lismore's major floods, 1954, 74 and 2017, came off the back of cyclones that came down the east coast.

"The BOM determines if it's a cyclone. Then it has a start time and date and a finish time and date. And you can be covered for that in our report submission."

"Basically, in essence, whatever system, it's saying the government will have to help us out for a while. Until we mitigate."

There lies the problem, as the CSIRO report is not due for release until June 2025. Lead scientist Jai Vaze and his team then run a few scenarios through the model to come up with the best mitigation solutions. Those solutions need to be approved, funded and built, which will more than likely take 5+ years.

"Jai's done fantastic work, including the way he's communicated with community, with people, great work on the Lidar and bathymetry, which means the whole catchment, the Richmond catchment, plus other catchments. He's got that understanding of how they work. We've never had that before, it's precise.

"He's doing well with the modelling. I know June is the operative date. I think it might be sooner, but I don't want to verbal him. Everything he's said he would do, he's done. And then once we get the modelling, then we'll do scenarios."

The million-dollar question is, when we mitigate for future floods, and the risk is lower, will that lead to a reduction in insurance policy costs?

"I haven't seen the hard evidence yet. The Insurance Council of Australia told me Townsville, which floods a lot too, after they did some mitigation, and St George are two areas where prices dropped."

Unfortunately, until that time comes we pay very high insurance prices that some people and some businesses cannot afford to pay, unless the the federal government underwrite insurance policies for the Northern Rivers as they do in North Queensland.

You can listen to Janelle Saffin's full podcast in Talking Lismore through the Lismore App Podcasts or through the Lismore App website www.lismoreapp.com.au. Go to News, click on the drop-down box and click podcasts.