The Talking Lismore podcast is back. This podcast features Mayor Steve Krieg for the first time in 2026.

Mayor Krieg is excited for Council to return to the CBD before the next meeting on Tuesday, March 10. He describes the move as a milestone moment in the city’s recovery.

“We’ll be there in March,” he said. “It’s just about ready to go, and to me, I can’t stop smiling about it.”

Works on the century-old building have included upgraded security, new meeting screens in the council chambers and repairs to the flood-damaged car park, funded in part through disaster recovery support.

“It is too good a building to be left as it is,” Mayor Krieg said. “It is the heart and soul of the foundation of Lismore… to be able to return it to what it was built for and designed for is just an amazing thing.”

The mayor said relocating staff back into the CBD would help revitalise the city centre and support local businesses.

“We are Lismore City Council. We should be in Lismore. We should be where our central district is,” he said. “If you’re going to be a regional centre, you need to have a presence.”

The CBD move was not the only reason to put a smile on the mayor's face. New events that will attract people to Lismore in 2026 created another grin. Those events include the Groove and the Moo music festival and Primex in May. Council is also pursuing A-League fixtures, rugby union pre-season matches and Olympic training camp opportunities.

“National and international organisers are coming to us,” he said. “We’ve got the capability and the capacity to accommodate these things.”

In a boost for local youth and sport, the mayor announced that the Lismore Skate Park will host a national Olympic selection qualifying event in April.

“It’s a major national qualifier for getting on the national skating team,” Cr Krieg said. “It’s really nice to have facilities like we’ve got. Now we’ve got to leverage that.”

The mayor acknowledged ongoing challenges, including housing shortages and the long-term management of flood buyback land, describing recovery from the 2022 disaster as a “10-year journey.”

“To think of how much has been done in that four-year period is absolutely amazing,” he said. “We’re not even halfway there.”

Tuesday night's community safety meeting at SCU has around 35 attendees and a host of speakers. Mayor Krieg said that council was working with police and support agencies to address homelessness and domestic violence concerns.

“We need to treat each other with that level of kindness and respect that we all want ourselves,” he said.

Despite the challenges still ahead of us, Mayor Krieg is excited about what 2026 will bring to our city.

“We have all the potential in the world to make Lismore a real hub and a destination,” he said.

To listen to the full Talking Lismore podcast, click on the link or head to the Lismore App website.