Warren Hornsby lives on the banks of the Hawkesbury River in Sydney's north west and runs an excavation company.
He keeps his large equipment in sheds on the same riverfront site in Pitt Town.
A year ago a major flood put his entire property metres under water.
He hurried to get multiple diggers and cars up to higher ground.
If he hadn't, his entire livelihood would've been gone.
"We had to evacuate all our business and our home," Mr Hornsby said.
"There's a big clean-up. I'm still cleaning up today."
Mr Hornsby is one of the many flood-affected Hawkesbury residents determined to stay but, in this Liberal Party stronghold, debate is raging about flood mitigation.
Deja vu
Mr Hornsby's neighbour, Dave Murphy, said being flooded out was a recurring nightmare.
Mr Murphy was due to move into his freshly renovated home in March 2021, when a flood submerged the house. It had only been complete for three months.
"The place was like a total loss, it was nearly at the point of knock it over and start again," he said.
The house was rebuilt to be more flood-resilient. But the day before they would move back, in March 2022, it happened again.
"We just finished moving everything in and we never got to live in the house," Mr Murphy said.
"The water coming up was very, very aggressive. Very fast."
Despite being hit by two major floods, he was knocked back for a flood recovery grant.
"I laughed at it. They're knocking back someone like us," Mr Murphy said.
12 months later, still in recovery
The March 2022 flood was the largest since 1978. More than 634 millimetres fell in the Hawkesbury-Nepean in 14 days in late February and early March.
The area was slammed by five floods between February 2020 and July 2022.
A year after the March flood, residents are still feeling the impact.
Wilberforce turf farmer Mary Mifsud's whole crop went 3 metres under water. Giant mounds of sand tower over her field, visible evidence of her problem — silt.
The grass is full of sand, making it too heavy to be harvested and sold effectively.
"Instead of putting say 600 metres on the truck, we only can put 250 to 300m because each roll can weigh up to 50 kilograms," Ms Mifsud said.
On top of the sand, there are also issues with fixing irrigation equipment, weeds, and debris that have been dumped across the farm. She says the back-to-back floods have set her back three years.
On top of disasters, the rising cost of living is also biting.
Over Christmas, there were lines of people waiting up to three hours at the Hawkesbury's Helping Hands warehouse in South Windsor while other major charities shut their doors over the holiday break.
President Linda Strickland sees new people who are struggling to make ends meet amid rising rents and interest rates.
"With the rising interest rates, they are struggling to pay their mortgage," Ms Strickland said.
"For some people, it comes down to their mortgage, food, electricity. So we have a whole new demographic that needs assistance."
Ms Strickland said the area desperately needed more mental health services, particularly for the youth.
"The community is really hurting, and we see it every day," Ms Strickland said.
Future floods
High on the agenda for residents is how to manage future flood disasters.
The Liberal Party's Robyn Preston has been the state member for Hawkesbury since being elected in 2019, in a seat that has elected only Liberals since 1950.
The state government announced a $2 billion project to raise the Warragamba Dam wall by 14m, with or without funding from the federal government.
"I've got 70,000 people below that wall who we need to protect and give them certainty," Ms Preston said.
Challenging Ms Preston for the Labor Party is Amanda Kotlash, a councillor with Hawkesbury City Council.
She is opposed to raising the wall, and believes there needs to be a focus on upgrading evacuation routes.
"The benefits of [raising the wall] will come very many years down the track and will cost an awful lot of money," Ms Kotlash said.
There's also the issue of building on the floodplain. Both the Liberal and Labor candidates believe there should be no more development on the floodplain.
But for those currently on the floodplain, Ms Preston believes raising the wall would protect their homes.
"The certainty that we would provide there would help those people going forward," Ms Preston said.
"You'd think it would lower their insurance premiums."
On the other hand, Ms Kotlash wants to see an optional transition process for people currently on the floodplain to move to safer locations.
"I'd start to think about how we can … transition people so that they are in a better place," Ms Kotlash said.
Will minds change in the bluest of seats?
The Liberal Party holds Hawkesbury by a 16.6 per cent margin, making it one of the safest seats in the state.
But over the last term of government, some voters' minds have changed.
Warren Hornsby, Dave Murphy, and Mary Mifsud all think the dam needs to be used as a flood mitigation tool.
And while Mr Hornsby has always voted Liberal, he is considering voting for Labor because he's impressed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
"He's more about the people and their concerns," Mr Hornsby said.
"He doesn't sugar-coat anything."
Mr Murphy also votes Liberal, but he says he's undecided this time around.
It always floods, so why stay?
Living on the river, Mr Hornsby and Mr Murphy are risking another flood by staying.
Mr Murphy is using his experience of rebuilding through multiple floods to show others how to make their places more flood resilient.
For example, replacing wooden floors, which bloat, with polished concrete and using water-resistant turpentine timber for the beams.
"Where do you get the chance or the opportunity to live on the river, where your kids can ride around on motorbikes, and you're on acreage and have riverfront as well?" Mr Murphy said.
"It's the price you pay to live there, you know? It's been nearly 30 years since the last flood [before 2020]."
"They come in cycles, and it is what it is."
