Flood-stricken towns slam Premier, Minns over silence during the election race

NSW communities who battled through the state’s worst flood disasters ever claim the bush has been forgotten as the two major party leaders battle it out to win the upcoming election.

Rural mayors who have helmed their communities through the worst flood disasters to ever hit them have slammed the two men who could be Premier for forgetting them during the election campaign.

Cabonne Council Mayor Kevin Beatty said he was “extremely pissed off” no funding was committed for buybacks before the government went into caretaker mode, after the town of Eugowra in his area was devastated by a record-breaking flood in November.

He said he had talked to the Premier’s office about the move before the government went into caretaker – stalling any major government decisions until after the election.

“It all stops and in these communities some of these houses have been completely destroyed and these people are in limbo,” he said.

“The regional community appreciated his response to visiting when the disasters hit – but they’d appreciate it more if it was a general visit. I know his a busy man but whoever the Premier is has to visit the bush.”

Cabonne Mayor Kevin Beatty (middle) during Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Dominic Perrottet’s visit to Eugowra in November. Picture: Steve Gosch

Forbes Mayor Phyllis Miller, whose town had 368 homes severely damaged in the floods, said she had talked to deputy Premier Paul Toole about the lack of facetime from the major leaders during the election.

“It’s pretty disappointing – I’ve taken it up with the deputy premier,” she said.

“Him being deputy premier, he’s taken the brunt of looking after the regions. At the same time I think we should have seen the Premier and Mr Minns out here at some stage.”

“Both the Premier and Mr Minns were both out when we were in flood and were very supportive I must say,” she said but added there had been no commitments to buybacks, despite people in her community “living in squalor.”

Charlie Sheahan, the Mayor of Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council, said both Mr Minns and Mr Perrottet missed a “golden opportunity” to lend an ear to the bush when neither appeared at a Country Mayors Association and regional forums in Sydney recently.

“They can think all they want about Newcastle Sydney and Wollongong, but there’s a lot of hard working people in the bush who need to get a fair cut of the pie.”

NSW Premier Mr Perrottet and his election rival

Chris Minns have each been criticised for not listening to bush communities.

“When we look at the health services we endure out here … we don’t get the same services as the city. Our life expectancies are lower than people in the metros. These are the things they need to do address and how the hell are they going to address it if they don’t come out here.”

A spokesman for the Premier said the Mr Perrottet had spent more than 30 days in flood impacted communities in the last year, including visiting Lismore twice in the last month.

“Unlike Labor, the Liberal and Nationals Government represents communities in every part of our state and our long-term economic plan will benefit all of NSW,” he said.

“The Premier stood-up with central NSW mayors in January in Molong to announce $280 million to support councils repair roads damaged by floods.”

Labor leader Chris Minns said: “We know that NSW does not thrive when our regional and rural communities do not thrive.

“Labor has a strong regional team, who are talking to voters everyday to outline Labor’s plan to put 500 more paramedics into the regions, our plan to subsidise HECs for 2000 health workers, to convert 10,000 temporary teachers to permanent,” he said.