Continuing with the reflections on the four year anniversary of the 2022 floods, State Member for Lismore and now NSW Minister for Recovery, Janelle Saffin says it is both deeply personal and a reminder of how far the region has come, and how much work still lies ahead. Here is her statement:

"Today marks four years since the 2022 floods — that inland tsunami none of us were prepared for.

It was our trigger moment. Life before 2022, and life after.

Change we didn’t ask for, but change that forced its way through our front doors, our back screen doors, and up through the floorboards into our lives.

Like so many, my family felt it deeply. We lost our dog. My husband nearly drowned. And he never really recovered — just as some people here are still struggling.

But as your local Member, I didn't just see that struggle—I lived it with you. That lived experience became my fuel. It's why I've been so determined to look at what worked and what didn't, ensuring we never repeat the mistakes of the past.

Since our last anniversary, I’ve been appointed Minister for Recovery. It’s a shift from advocating as local member to advocating statewide.

I’m taking the lessons we learned the hard way in the Northern Rivers and putting them at the heart of how this state handles disasters. I’m here to make it count.

My job is to strengthen the NSW Reconstruction Authority. It’s a young agency, but it’s growing up fast to be recovery ready and response ready. Efficient, competent and compassionate, even when the conversation is difficult.

And this is a year of action:

- About 1000 homes will have been removed from the highest risk floodplain areas.

- Up to 600 more will have been raised, rebuilt or retrofitted with flood resilient materials.

- And we’ll continue the serious conversations about long term mitigation and adaptation.

And across the region, roads, bridges, schools, clubhouses and public assets — from Lismore City Hall to the Tweed Heads croquet club to Hardwood Farm drainage - are or have been rebuilt. It’s a massive investment in our future.

Here in the Northern Rivers, we are trailblazers. What we have done and will do becomes the blueprint for how the rest of the country faces extreme disasters.

We know the pain of 2022. But we also know something more powerful: that we can rise, rebuild and reshape our future.

We have come a long way and got a way to go. But we are now turning the corner on recovery, so many good things are happening to secure our future.

I’m committed to that safe and secure future. And I know — because I’ve seen it — that this community has the courage, the love and the heart to shape it with me.

Let’s keep doing this together."