State Labor leader Chris Minns visits the Hawkesbury to tour flood affected areas

It’s not often you accuse a politician of being media shy but Labor’s State leader Chris Minns made another quiet visit to the Hawkesbury today to tour some of the worst flood-hit regions without engaging with local media, who would have liked to have asked him a few questions.

Today’s visit follows on the heels of an earlier trip where he talked to members of Pitt Town Progress Association about their flood issues, including evacuation routes.

Labor opposition leader Chris Minns (centre) listens as Hawkesbury Community Alliance’s Christine Paine OAM explains some of the flood issues

On that occasion he also avoided local media so we were unable to ask what exactly a government he might lead would do to help mitigate floods in our region.

To be fair to Mr Minns, it seems he is more interested in listening to residents, and you can’t fault him for that.

A day for listening…

Today, he was a guest of Hawkesbury Community Alliance, an umbrella organisation fighting to urgently lower the full supply level of Warragamba Dam by 12 metres, ahead of forecast La Nina and Indian Ocean Dipole events in the coming weeks, which could potentially lead to more floods in the Hawkesbury.

“Mr Minns and his team have been consistently open to dialogue with residents of the Hawkesbury over recent weeks,” says Hawkesbury Community Alliance spokesperson Christine Paine OAM.

“Hawkesbury Community Alliance was grateful he took time from his busy schedule to witness the devastation from the 2021/22 floods and hear first-hand what residents need from the NSW Government to recover and prepare for future flood events,” Ms Paine said.

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