Australia news LIVE: PM arrives in Queensland as cyclone looms; Zelensky regrets Oval Office clash with Trump

While Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall near Brisbane, the worst impacts of the storm are expected to the south, meaning the Gold Coast and northern NSW are in the direct line of fire.

This is devastating news for the residents of NSW’s Northern Rivers, including the town of Lismore, which is only just getting back on its feet after the disastrous 2022 floods.

No one knows this better than federal Emergency Management Minister Jenny McAllister, who grew up on the Northern Rivers.

“This will be an incredibly difficult time for [the] communities on the north coast,” McAllister told ABC’s RN Breakfast.

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“They went through a really difficult time in 2022, and the prospect of renewed flooding will be hard for those people, but they are preparing themselves. They are prepared. They are a very, very capable community.”

While McAllister is currently stationed in Queensland, she said Senator Tony Sheldon, the special envoy for disaster recovery, was on the ground in northern NSW.

“He’s been talking with mayors. He’s been talking with the SES,” she said.

“He’s been really trying to look after those communities because we are aware of how significant this is.”

Read more about the incoming cyclone here.