The mayor of the NSW Mid North Coast town of Bellingen said flood-hit residents in his town had been overlooked after the local government area was left off the list for the latest round of flood relief grants.
The town, sitting along the Bellinger River to the south of Coffs Harbour, had to deal with major flood levels last week.
Twenty four houses in the town were inundated when more than 200 millimetres of rain fell in less than 24 hours across two days.
The town was cut off for several days with residents in low lying areas issued with evacuation orders by the SES.
Mayor Steve Allan wants to see grant eligibility extended to include his town.
"We have had homes that have been inundated with water and people have lost a lot of their possessions, if not all of them," he said.
On Monday, Premier Dominic Perrottet announced grants of up to $20,000 for uninsured residents in eight northern NSW LGAs.
While Mr Allan said he was disappointed his LGA was excluded from the latest grant, he holds hope that may change.
"I think we need to work with [the state government] and hopefully get them to see our point of view," the mayor said.
MP awaits damage assessment before endorsing extension
Bellingen was not the only part of the region that had to deal with major flooding conditions.
Low-lying parts of the nearby towns of Urunga and Repton were also cut off and under evacuation orders, as were communities further south in Bowraville, Macksville and along the Lower Macleay River.
Nationals MP for the seat of Oxley, Melinda Pavey, said an extension of the grants would be contingent on a damage assessment currently being carried out by the SES.
"I've asked the question of our Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke that if our damage is comparable," she said.
"I'll fight as a local member to ensure we have parity with our northern neighbours.
Ms Pavey said she would like to see the grant scheme be made more flexible if damages in her electorate are found to be comparable to that in the Northern Rivers.
"It is very hard having borders on a map," she said.
"Sometimes you've got to make that border, but there has to be the capacity for those guidelines to include some commonsense — which is what I'll be fighting for."
More support needed regardless of LGA eligibility
The Clarence Valley is among those areas included in the Back Home grant fund.
"For a lot of our community who have had damaged houses, and lost goods as well, I think this will come as a big relief for them and a bit of economic stimulus," Clarence Valley councillor Debrah Novak said.
She said she remained concerned for local farmers who could be recovering for years.
"Our community in the Clarence Valley is very resilient but they can only take so much," Ms Novak said.
"To be able to re-establish their farm operations again is going to take another huge investment of cash which a lot of them don't have.
"To be not eligible for those grants is a real slap in the face to those farmers, I believe."
