The big kicker in the CSIRO flood report for Ballina is the trade-off. A new outlet to the sea at Broadwater would reduce flooding. There is no doubt about that and we know that the river did just that in 1890.

In July 2022 Engineers Australia held a risk seminar at Southern Cross University. It wasn’t long after the floods so naturally the floods came up in panel discussions. An audience member suggested we needed large basins to capture the water to reduce flooding in Lismore. Not one of the engineers on the panel wanted to discuss this because they thought the idea wasn’t worth discussing.

Richmond Riverkeeper says it welcomes the data behind CSIRO's new model for the Richmond River catchment, accepting that even the most ambitious set of measures modelled would not stop towns in the catchment from flooding, while warning that the health of the river itself is still missing from the conversation.

More than 110 residents gathered at Rock Valley Hall on Sunday 12 July and rejected claims that the recently released CSIRO report on flood mitigation was informed by strong community consultation.

After four years of work, the CSIRO has come to the conclusion that multiple water detentions (dams), in the upper reaches of the catchments in the Northern Rivers, along with other flood mitigation engineering, could reduce future catastrophic flooding impacts in Lismore and elsewhere by as much as 2 metres.

Dr Luke Robinson reflects on the recent community consultation session in Lismore, 'Science in the Club: nature-based solutions for flood resilience'.

Once again, our Northern Rivers communities have been let down by a less than transparent ‘consultation’ process.

Public comments may have closed on the CSIRO's fifteen proposed mitigation measures to protect Lismore, Ballina, Kyogle and Casino from the worst of future flood emergencies, but criticism of the process has only become more strident.

Byron Shire Council is set to begin the next round of major drainage reconstruction works in the Byron Bay CBD in June, acknowledging that the project will have a ‘significant impact’ on business and the community.

The long-awaited multi-million dollar CSIRO flood mitigation study on the Northern Rivers has entered its community consultation phase after repeated delays.