Mrs SALLY QUINNELL (Camden) (17:57): Like the member for Clarence before me this evening, I too speak about the continued threat of flooding that residents of my electorate of Camden consistently face. As the local MP, one of my enduring priorities will be to address the risks posed to Camden by flooding and to stem the disasters that we have seen become all too common in places like the Northern Rivers and Lismore. There are no easy solutions to the issues that Camden faces with the threat of flooding at present and into the future. However, we can learn the lessons from past tragedies in order to prepare for much more common freak weather events. Camden and its surrounding areas lie upon the Nepean River and, as such, the township faces significant risk of flood when major rain events strike.

The threat facing Camden has grown exponentially in recent years, not least due to the impacts of climate change. In just the past year people living in parts of Camden have had to evacuate on three different occasions, and over the past three years those same areas have had to evacuate on another two occasions, sparked by constant heavy rainfall.

While La Niña brought much-needed and welcome relief to our farmers, who for so long had faced crippling drought conditions, large amounts of rainfall can have devastating consequences for low-lying communities across our State. As my good friend the member for Lismore knows all too well, we need only remember the devastating scenes coming out of Lismore and the Northern Rivers region to realise the devastation that flooding can cause to communities. In Lismore hundreds of homes were deemed uninhabitable after inundation that practically buried the town under a river. I have become concerned that the same circumstances could produce similar results in Camden, with the same devastating impact on the wider community.

I recognise the work being done by the new Minns Labor Government to mitigate the impacts of flooding across the State, including across the Nepean River. That work is vital to ensure that our communities that so many people rely on are safe from disasters and that we are prepared when floods strike. In truth, the community of Camden could and should be much better prepared for flood emergencies and evacuations. Members of the community are all too familiar with the phrases "one-in-100-years" or "one-in-20-years" flood events, as the same flooding emergencies that used to occur infrequently are now happening much more frequently. Undeniably, climate change is altering the frequency of devastating natural disasters. Based on those trends, it is important to take the ambitious action required to mitigate climate change, and I am proud to be part of a Labor government that is committed to doing so.

Like I said before, there are no easy answers or solutions to these issues. The wider area surrounding Camden itself is known for its booming population and lack of infrastructure and services to support the growing number of people who call the Camden region home. Over a decade of neglect of south-western Sydney by the former Government has left the area unprepared for significant natural disaster events. We need only look back at the flooding that occurred last year to see that, without vital infrastructure to facilitate emergency management plans and evacuations, people can become trapped in their homes waiting out a very dangerous weather event, not knowing whether their house and possessions will be inundated.

To evacuate Camden, residents must travel along several one-lane bridges, most of which have been inundated several times during flooding in the past year. Those arrangements are not sustainable for a community that is undergoing such rapid population growth, along with an already large existing population that may be required to evacuate should another significant flood event occur. With streamlined evacuation routes and improved management of river flood plains surrounding Camden, the community can be better prepared for natural disaster events that may occur in the future, just like they have in the past. The best we can do for the people living in my electorate is to prepare so that they know they will be safe if the worst were to happen.