Member for Barwon Roy Butler says rebuilding flood-damaged roads a priority

Speaking to the Daily Liberal from his car on his way out of Condobolin - the latest town in Barwon battling floods - the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MP sang praise for the community's resilience in the face of the worst flood in its history.

"I have to credit the volunteers, the SES and all the other groups who have come in, they've done an amazing job and the community's swung in behind them," he said.

"They actually built a wall in a matter of days to act as a levee to keep the water out of the lower lying areas and it was successful. It was an amazing effort - Condo town itself was fairly well protected, there was some inundation but generally the houses were okay."

"When you listen to who came and who helped and how long they helped, it's a huge effort."

While a situation like that in Molong or Eugowra was avoided in Condobolin the damage done by the flooding was still significant and will have devastating effects on the town's economy, said Mr Butler.

"The downside is the agriculture in the area. So many paddocks are under water and there are so many crops that will never come off because they'll be wet for too long," he said.

"Condo has two main legs for its economy, one being agriculture and the other tourism. With the way the roads are and all the road closures they haven't had the caravans and the tourists coming through and agriculture has taken a huge hit."

"When agriculture is strong the whole community is strong."

Joining Mr Butler on his visit to Condobolin on Friday was NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke - the trio met in Parkes and drove out Condobolin.

Mr Butler said on the journey - seeing how bad the state of the road was - Premier Perrottet called treasurer Matt Kean to alert him that roads would need more funding than what was already promised.

"One thing that I've been stressing to the premier every time I've been able to speak to him is the roads. That's how we get our supply chain and medication in and food in," he said.

"We need to rebuild our roads, not just repair them, so the time towns are cut off for is reduced. That means higher roads, better drainage and building them to a better standard where they won't just give way."

"That's going to take years and it's going to take state, federal and local governments to work together which the Premier has acknowledged."

Elsewhere in Barwon the roads are still too damaged and dangerous for cars to pass leaving whole communities along the Darling south of Bourke, like Louth and Tilpa, isolated.

And the worries are over yet, with the river at Tilpa predicted to reach 13.1 metres this week.

"The actually airlifted earthmoving equipment into Tilpa so they could attempt to raise the levy, again you have to commend the SES for organising the chopper and the locals who organised 400 litres of diesel and got in there to protect the town," he said.

"As the water moves down the risk will move with the water. Wilcannia will probably be hit next and Menindee."

Should Mr Butler be voted in again after the next state election in March 2023, he said roads will be one of his main priorities and being on the crossbench he's in a unique position to negotiate better outcomes no matter which party takes leadership.

"I think it's great when ministers or shadow ministers travel out into my electorate because then when they go to caucasus or to cabinet they can talk about their lived experiences," he said.

"We don't know who's going to form a government - whether it's going to be another LNP government or a Labor government. But the good thing about where I sit on the crossbench is I can talk to both sides."

Other priorities he will take to the election include dealing with the shortage of healthcare workers and teachers across the region.

"I think I've demonstrated in the four years I've been in parliament that being on the crossbench can be incredibly effective. If you play your cards right and build the right relationships, you can approach whatever minister you need and just say - hey can we do this," he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Butler has promised he will continue pushing the government to channel more money into flood-hit communities across Barwon to help with their economic recovery.

"In the short term what communities need is plenty of money. So today's announcement about money for small businesses and not-for-profits in the 75 affected LGAs is positive, and the 75 grand for primary producers," he said.

"But for some big operations where they've lost millions of dollars of crops that money might pay the interest on their machinery for a month but it's not going to put them back in the black. More will need to be done there."

As the flood crisis continues, Mr Butler - a Mendooran local - doesn't expect to be getting any down time anytime soon. Over the coming weeks, he'll be back on the road visiting more communities across Barwon.

"It can be a gruelling life of being constantly on the road, or being kept busy for long days in parliament, often sitting well into the evening hours, far away from my home and family for weeks at a time," he said.

"It has been an endurance test so far, but one that has its rewards, enabling me to work hard for and give back to the community."

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