Most people living in the Hunter outside Newcastle have been hit by an extreme weather event in the past five years, and the overwhelming majority say it is adding to their cost of living, new polling has found.
The survey of 503 residents across the regional Hunter found 85 per cent had experienced an extreme weather event in the past five years, ranging from severe storms and floods to extreme heat and bushfires.
Hunter conveyancer Leah Stevens said rising insurance premiums, driven by growing flood and bushfire risk, were already locking people out of the property market.
"I recently advised a young couple to seek insurance before purchasing their first home near Maitland showgrounds," she said.
"They were quoted around $20,000 a year due [to] the high flood risk, and they had to walk away from the property.
"People are already feeling the financial impacts of worsening extreme weather, and we need governments to take action now to prevent more homes becoming unaffordable or uninsurable."
Eighty per cent of those surveyed said events were driving up their cost of living, and 63 per cent said they were worried about the financial fallout.
The poll, conducted in August by research firm 89 Degrees East, also found 80 per cent of respondents believed climate change was contributing to extreme weather, while 54 per cent said pollution from coal mining and burning was a factor in climate change and its impacts.
Wollombi Valley Resilience Network chair and volunteer firefighter Professor Don White, who has lived in the valley for 45 years, said the 2022 floods left his family cut off for extended periods, at one point stranding them for a week when their property went underwater.
"The costs of recovering from floods and fires is always high for residents, and the NSW government and local council spent millions of dollars rebuilding the bridges and roads after the 2022 floods," he said.
Professor White said the window for hazard reduction burns was narrowing each year as the climate warmed, making it "much harder to prepare communities for the fire season."
The polling comes as the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) weighs a decision on the Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) coal mine extension near Singleton.
It is the largest coal project ever proposed in NSW.
Lock the Gate national coordinator Georgina Woods pointed to the poll's findings on public attitudes to coal mining's role in climate change, and said Glencore and Yancoal had not adequately prepared the HVO workforce for an eventual mine closure.
"Many people in the regional Hunter region depend on coal mining jobs, but everyone is paying for the rising costs of climate change and related floods and fires," she said.
The IPC was originally expected to hand down its determination on the HVO expansion in early September, but recently sought a four-week extension to gather further information from the company about possible shorter approval periods.
Lock the Gate said a decision was now expected by the end of September.
