There will be a federal Parliamentary Inquiry into the response of insurers to the 2022 storm and flood events, impacted residents have been promised.
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The promise was made in Eugowra on Wednesday - for all regions devastated by the extreme weather events of that time.
Member for Cabonne Andrew Gee and Minister for Financial Services and Assistance Treasurer Stephen Jones heard the experiences of Eugowra residents Brian and Lesley Smith before addressing media with the announcement.
Mr Gee had raised the need for a Parliamentary Inquiry into the issues facing flood-hit residents, and hosted community meetings including in Eugowra to gather stories to back his call.
"I am delighted that the Minister and Prime Minister have listened to the ... cries for help from our region," Mr Gee said. "An inquiry will now be launched which is I think vitally important."
The Minister and Mr Gee on Wednesday visited Molong to meet with business owners and residents there, then planned to go on to Cudal.
"We've heard stories of great heartache and tragedy that is being compounded ... by the behaviour of insurers," Mr Gee said.
"It's very very difficult for people to move on whilst they've got this cloud hanging over them - whether it's an insurance knock back so they haven't actually got the funds to rebuild or whether it's not a knockback just living in limbo like the Smiths are here."
Mr Jones said it would be a priority to put the matter to Parliament - and he was confident it would have support there.
He thanked the Eugowra residents who had shared their stories and the Smiths for welcoming him to their property.
"I also guarantee that (the inquiry) won't be something that's just run out of Canberra," he said.
"We will ensure it comes out here to the central west and talks to people who are directly affected."
He could not provide terms of reference, but said they needed to be wide-reaching and allow people's stories and experiences to be told.
The Advocate has in the eight months since the Eugowra disaster spoken to residents forced to "opt out" of flood cover when premiums surged to more than $20,000 a year - for homes that had not even been flooded in the past.
Brian and Lesley did have flood insurance on the Pye Street home they purchased just 18 months before the event. However it sits untouched eight months on from the disaster. More of their story to come.
"We are so disheartened about what's going on, it's heartbreaking," Mr Smith said.
"We've got a house we can't live in.
"We're living in a pod that's graciously supplied by the government. All we need to do is get back into our home. We moved here to settle down and retire. We can't do that now because of what is going on.
"It's heartbreaking how big corporations can walk away ... We need an answer. Everywhere needs an answer not just us."
"It's just wrong," Mrs Smith said. "We just need help."
Mr Jones said there were "lots of parts" to be looked at in an inquiry.
"There's the insurance coverage itself, there's the claims handling that needs to be dealt with," Mr Jones said.
"We've also got to look at the underlying risk and a big part of the Albanese government's approach to this issue is to ensure that we're not putting more houses and communities in peril.
"We want to ensure that at the very least when we are building things back that we are building back better and more resilient to the risks.
"We want to ensure that when households and communities do the right thing and firm up their infrastructure or ensure they're building back their houses to be more resilient that that's reflected in the premiums they're being charged.
"All of these things need to be dealt with: the underlying risk, the claims process and the structure of insurance in this country."
Mr Gee said he hoped the inquiry would both see local claims progressed and ensure people who faced natural disaster in future would not experience the same.
"There's great injustice being visited upon our region," he said.
"We need to shine a light on it so I'm hoping this inquiry will do just that so people from our area can have their stories told on a national stage ... so that other communities and other residents don't have to go through the pain and the heartache."
Mrs Smith expressed her gratitude to Mr Gee for pushing for the inquiry - and for all he'd done for the community.
"Hopefully what he's been doing for us will get us an answer so we can move on, rebuild our house," she said. "Everybody that's helped, thank you."
