Arguably the biggest long term issue for Lismore and Northern Rivers residents is flood mitigation.

Everyone understands the significance of the CSIRO report on June 30 this year and, more importantly, the release of the final mitigation modelling on June 30, 2026. This will show a number of mitigation scenarios that will take varying amounts of height of a flood in the Richmond catchment, which will then be costed.

What the community wants to hear is reassurance from the Federal Government that it will provide the necessary financial support to lower future flood heights, make insurance affordable and boost confidence for future investment in our region.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked that question on Monday at the Lismore SES base on Brunswick Street.

"Well, we of course have already, I think, shown our bona fides through the commitments that we've made. $150 million through the Northern Rivers Recovery and Resilience Program to the New South Wales Government to deliver flood mitigation resilience projects.

"We have commissioned the CSIRO to do that work. $880 million with New South Wales for the Resilient Homes program to buy back homes and upgrade those which can be made safer. So we await the report. We'll give it proper consideration when we receive it."

When asked the same question, Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan added more detail.

"I brought it up personally with him as well, and again, in a private meeting that I had. And look, I'm talking to everybody about flood mitigation, and have done for three years. We do, unfortunately, and everyone that I talk to says this, and I understand this, but we have to wait for the CSIRO report in about a month or two.

"They will have done all the mapping, the LIDAR mapping, that they've done, and then they'll have to say what do you want modelled? Now, I always have said, Let's model taking off a metre to two metres off a flood, and see how much that costs, and where we would do that, and how that would look and work. So I'm hoping that is one of the things that we model. That will then take, and they'll do other models, so that then will take around 12 months to push the button and do all that because this is quite full on work.

"What they're going to come back with in another 12 months time, by the middle of, say, hopefully 2026, is, say, Okay, if you want to take a metre and a half of a flood, this is where you would have to hold the water back, or slow the water down, in these four, five or six locations. This is what you might do at Boundary Creek in Ballina to let the water go quicker. And there might be other things they come up with that would help.

"We then have to look at that and go, Okay, which one are we going to do? Which one are we going to fund? And how are we going to do this? Now, while we're not getting commitments from funding at the moment, there's no model to look at and say, well, that's the one, and we have no costings around how much it would be. But what I would like at least is some people talking positively and talking that we'll commit to things when we see them.

"If that work from the CSIRO wasn't happening, what are we waiting for? What would we have to look forward to, except for a half botched buyback scheme. So, this is very positive that the modelling is happening and it's going to be a very, hopefully, positive conversation we have in a year and a bit's time, this is what we want to do and this is how we're going to do it and this is what we're going to fund it with."

Speaking of the CSIRO report, lead scientist Jai Vaze said the next stage, the Calibration Report, is on time for a June 30 finish.

From that moment on, Jai and his team are capable of testing the various scenarios given to them by the Regional Masterplan with input from councils and the community.

That modelling is expected to be completed and released by 30 June 2026.

Jai said this is not an easy job. "It's one of the hardest catchments I have modelled, largely because it is populated. A lot of the time my research is in unpopulated areas. This is a massive job, especially because it is the entire Richmond catchment. This is why no one has ever tried before."

Talking to Jai, you can tell he and his team are passionate about and working very hard on the CSIRO report to hit the suggested deadlines. They are committed to delivering the most sophisticated flood modelling, as well as the first of its kind, for the Richmond catchment that will deliver the best flood mitigation suggestions for our community.

We're in good hands with the CSIRO. But not so sure about Federal Government funding at this stage.