Central Western Daily editorial | Floodwaters finally recede ... so what now, Mr Albanese?

It's a question many left in the devastating wake of Monday's shock floods across the Cabonne Shire will no doubt, at some stage, have asked themselves.

Amidst the debris. Amidst the heartache. Amidst the complete carnage left behind by those record floods in Eugowra and Molong, you can't help but wonder, surely those impacted can't help but wonder ... what now?

So far, it has been people power lifting both communities off the canvas.

We brought you the stories of Molong's builders ditching their own work to complete whatever repairs were needed on Bank Street.

How hundreds of people dropped everything to help the many CBD businesses impacted by the flooding.

We showed you the heartache the community of Eugowra was faced with, and the pain and sadness residents and business owners along the Mandagery Creek were coming to terms with as the town began to open up again on Wednesday.

Businesses from Orange have made the trip to help. Locals are trucking in essentials. All Eugowra really needs, most locals will tell you, is extra trucks to help clear the mess.

And, despite the groundswell of support from a community level, many of those people who've lost everything are getting ready to pull up stumps and call it quits. After enduring a disaster of this proportion, who can blame them?

Given the scale of these floods and the lasting impact they'll no doubt have on these communities, it seems perplexing that more help hasn't rolled into town.

This is a disaster of national significance.

Photos posted to the Cabonne Shire council Facebook page show acting Prime Minister Richard Marles was in Eugowra on Wednesday.

And yet, as of Wednesday, Federal Member for Calare Andrew Gee confirmed no ADF personnel had been deployed to Eugowra to assist with the clean-up.

A chat with a devastated business owner in the centre of Eugowra revealed no resilience help had been offered either.

The Central Western Daily contacted the office of Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King, and received a fairly generic response from a spokesperson that said the government had already committed $2.9 billion in assistance.

That commitment was made well before Monday's monumental flood event.

And now, the impacts have been greater, with not only businesses, livelihoods and homes decimated, but the regional road network across the Central West currently in tatters.

Henry Parkes Way, Ophir Road and the Mitchell Highway are just three thoroughfares that have suffered extensive damage in the most recent deluge.

A host of major arterial roads are just about cactus, too. You have to question the safety of these roads after the immense stress they've been placed under following three years of rain, and now this horrendous month of flooding.

Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt was also contacted for comment. We are still awaiting a response from Mr Watt.

It seems a sluggish effort from our national decision makers.

And certainly what we've endured as a region this week deserves the attention of those at the top of the tree. Those capable of sending emergency help to where it's needed most.

In the lead-up to the Federal Election this year Anthony Albanese vowed to unite the country, bring metropolitan and regional Australia together and ensure "no one left behind, no one held back".

In October, a month ago, Mr Albanese was in Forbes and said his government stands ready to provide any support communities along the Lachlan require.

"This is beyond politics, this is about Australians pitching in. We're here to see first hand exactly what's needed," he said at the time.

If Labor is serious about those pledges, serious about ensuring no one is left behind, then the communities of Eugowra and Molong must benefit from the full swag of disaster funding and resources the Federal government has at its disposal.

Both communities have been ravaged. The scenes are being described as warzones, with Cabonne mayor Kevin Beatty on Tuesday saying it looked like a bomb had gone off in Eugowra.

So, Mr Albanese, what now? And what happens in two weeks time, a month's time ... two months time? What then?

The people of Cabonne, and the wider Central West, deserve to know.

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