There have been renewed calls for NSW Premier Dominic Perrotet to fully accept the findings of NSW independent flood inquiry and to release it to the public in Lismore.
That's the view of State Lismore MP Janelle Saffin, who has been a fierce advocate in flood recovery efforts.
It's understood that the report, which has been prepared by Mary O'Kane and Mick Fuller, was delivered to the government on Sunday.
Ms Saffin has urged the Premier to accept the full findings of the inquiry and to publicly release it in Lismore which would be "welcome and expected".
"Ideally, this report, which was delivered to the NSW Government at the weekend, should be publicly released in the Northern Rivers, preferably Lismore, as soon as possible so that local residents, business owners and councils have some certainty about our future," Ms Saffin said.
"I suggested early on that we needed an independent inquiry; and that it had to be the inquiry which breaks the litany of half-hearted public inquiries in Australia which have been either ignored or acted upon in a piecemeal manner.
"I've requested that the Premier do the right thing by us up here by releasing the report in our region and without delay, not 'within the month of August' as Acting Premier Paul Toole told a press conference.
"I made it clear very early on that the Premier can adopt Commissioners (Professor Mary) O'Kane and (Mick) Fuller's recommendations in full and sight unseen because he trusts them to do the job. Further that the Premier also needs to announce an implementation mechanism that goes to the heart of the machinery of government or whole-of-government, and that reports to Government and the Parliament periodically."
Ms Saffin said she had every confidence that the Commissioners' findings will reflect our experience of the catastrophic floods in February and March, and that their far-reaching recommendations will speak to the resultant humanitarian disaster that will take years to recover from.
Last week, Deputy Premier, Paul Toole, said the government needed time to consider the report's recommendations before it was released to the community "within the month of August".
He would also not be drawn on when a buyback scheme would be implemented, believing it would pre-empt the findings of the flood inquiry.
"We want to review it as quickly as possible, but also release it to the public, that has been our commitment," Mr Toole said at press conference on Thursday.
I'm a media professional with over 34 years of experience in public relations and journalism, including a decade setting Lismore's news agenda as the editor of The Northern Star. I have proven track record in growing audiences and improving engagement by delivering quality local stories for and about the Lismore community.
I'm a media professional with over 34 years of experience in public relations and journalism, including a decade setting Lismore's news agenda as the editor of The Northern Star. I have proven track record in growing audiences and improving engagement by delivering quality local stories for and about the Lismore community.
