Received

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has laid out his priorities to get the flood-ravaged Northern Rivers region of NSW back on its feet, including the urgent task of finding housing for displaced people.

"To me, the top priorities here are getting the clean-up done, getting people into homes and getting financial support out for those who need it," he told the Nine Network on Friday.

"We want people out of evacuation centres and into their own homes."

The NSW government has announced a $551 million housing support package for 25,000 households, jointly funded with the federal government.

However, coordinating housing for flood survivors was going to be a "significant challenge" Mr Perrottet warned.

The clean-up also poses a significant challenge with tonnes of debris and household waste remaining after the floods.

"We have around 4,000 tonnes every day of debris being collected. It is a massive operation. It will take weeks and months," Mr Perrottet said.

The package includes:

* $285 million for temporary housing, including a $248 million 16-week rental support scheme

* $10 million for 120 motorhomes, with 20 to arrive on Sunday

* $20 million for temporary "pod" housing

* $4.5 million for long-term housing

* $2.5 million to hire recreation camps

* $150,000 for the Australian Red Cross to provide housing through Airbnb and Stayz.

Some $90 million has been set aside for the clean-up across 28 local government areas.

Asked if he had urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to declare the Northern Rivers region a natural disaster zone sooner, the premier said it was "only relevant to coordination at a commonwealth level".

"In NSW, we set up our state emergency operation centre immediately," he said.

The premier said the state emergency management centre is able to bring in all NSW government agencies with "that whole-of-government coordination".

"We don't have a declaration in place because that coordination is in place."

Mr Perrottet was also asked on Nine whether he would "get rid" of Resilience NSW, the agency responsible for disaster recovery and community resilience.

"It would be remiss of any government to not look at what went well, what could have been better, and make those improvements," he responded. "That is what I'm committed to doing."

Federal opposition leader Anthony Albanese questioned why it was taking the prime minister "days and days into this disaster" to declare a national emergency.

"The parliament gave the prime minister and the government powers to do that after the experience of the bushfires," he told the ABC from Lismore on Friday.

Why is it that it took the prime minister to have a visit for that to occur?"

Mr Albanese said flood-affected Ballina residents had told him they were traumatised and were having difficulty accessing government support.

"What we need when there is a natural disaster is people on the ground, face-to-face, providing people with that support, getting the message out there that there is somewhere people can go."

Meanwhile, Sydney Trains says commuters face ongoing delays after wild weather caused extensive damage to the network across Greater Sydney.

The damage includes landslips in Pymble, Casula and Emu Plains and a sinkhole in Leura.

"We are working on over 100 at-risk sites across the network, including debris on rail lines and damaged high voltage infrastructure due to the strong winds and heavy rainfall," Sydney Trains CEO Matt Longland said on Friday.

On Friday, flood levels on the Hawkesbury River were beginning to recede and were at moderate river heights at North Richmond, Windsor, Sackville and Lower Portland, and minor heights at Wiseman's Ferry.

Looking ahead, showers and thunderstorms are forecast for inland NSW this weekend as a trough deepens over the west, the Bureau of Meteorology said on Friday.

Rainfall is also expected on the coast as a high pressure weather system pushes winds east.

© AAP 2022

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has laid out his priorities to get the flood-ravaged Northern Rivers region of NSW back on its feet, including the urgent task of finding housing for displaced people, as a convoy of motorhomes is sent to the area.

"To me, the top priorities here are getting the clean-up done, getting people into homes and getting financial support out for those who need it," he told the Nine Network on Friday.

The government sent the first of 120 motorhomes to northern NSW from Sydney on Friday after flooding destroyed thousands of homes.

"The recent extreme weather has devastated these communities and we are doing everything we can to make sure people have a safe place to stay," Minister for Communities and Families Natasha Maclaren-Jones said.

The motorhomes are being driven by NSW Rural Fire Service volunteers and the first 20 are expected to arrive by Sunday.

Some 1200 flood victims have received emergency accommodation after 5500 homes were assessed as damaged, about half of those uninhabitable.

The motorhomes are part of a $551 million housing support package for 25,000 households, jointly funded by the state and federal government.

The package includes:

* $285 million for temporary housing, including a $248 million 16-week rental support scheme

* $10 million for 120 motorhomes; 20 to arrive on Sunday

* $20 million for temporary 'pod' housing

* $4.5 million for long-term housing

* $2.5 million to hire recreation camps

* $150,000 for the Australian Red Cross to provide housing through Airbnb and Stayz.

Some $90 million has been set aside for the clean-up across 28 local government areas.

Asked if he had urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to declare the Northern Rivers region a natural disaster zone sooner, the premier said it was "only relevant to co-ordination at a commonwealth level".

"In NSW, we set up our state emergency operation centre immediately," he said.

Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese questioned why it was taking the prime minister "days and days into this disaster" to declare a national emergency.

"The parliament gave the prime minister and the government powers to do that after the experience of the bushfires," he told the ABC from Lismore on Friday.

"Why is it that it took the prime minister to have a visit for that to occur?"

Mr Albanese said flood-affected Ballina residents had told him they were traumatised and having difficulty accessing government support.

"What we need when there is a natural disaster is people on the ground, face-to-face, providing people with that support," he said.

Telstra announced it would provide $250,000 worth of $10,000 grants to community groups in northern NSW and southern Queensland to support the recovery.

The company said in a separate statement it had repaired about 90 per cent of mobile base stations, restored service to 95 per cent of isolated communities and 75 per cent of landlines.

Meanwhile, commuters face ongoing delays after the wild weather caused extensive damage to the network across Greater Sydney.

There have been landslips in Pymble, Casula and Emu Plains, and a sinkhole in Leura, with work taking place at more than 100 sites, Sydney Trains CEO Matt Longland said.

Flood levels on the Hawkesbury River began to recede on Friday morning and were at moderate river heights at North Richmond, Windsor, Sackville and Lower Portland, and minor heights at Wisemans Ferry.

Looking ahead, showers and thunderstorms are forecast for inland NSW this weekend as a trough deepens over the west, the Bureau of Meteorology said on Friday. Rainfall is expected on the coast.

© AAP 2022

Party politics and pre-selection issues had a toll on Victorian Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching before her shock death, according to former opposition leader Bill Shorten

Senator Kitching died from a suspected heart attack on Thursday aged 52.

A tearful Mr Shorten told ABC Radio that Senator Kitching's death came as a shock and said she had been under great stress.

"Pre-selection is never easy. I'm not a coroner, I can't tell you why this woman at 52 was taken from us, but I have no doubt that the stress of politics and the machinations in the back rooms had its toll," he said.

"There were machinations and arguments going on, now that does happen, that's not unique. But we have a woman who's 52, who's pulled over by the side of the road and died unexpectedly. That's shocking. It's terrible."

Mr Shorten also described how he rushed to the aid of Senator Kitching's husband Andrew Landeryou on Thursday night after being told of her death.

"She was in the next suburb when she passed. So (my wife Chloe and I) immediately drove over, and we sat with a couple of other dear friends of Kimberley and Andrew on the side of the road as we waited for the undertaker's van," he said.

"When someone close to you passes, there's only one thing that you want people to do, it's to bring them back, and you can't."

Tributes have flowed for Senator Kitching from across the political spectrum in the wake of her death.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said her death was an enormous shock.

Mr Albanese said while there were pressures on people in politics, news of Senator Kitching's death was unexpected.

"No one could have anticipated this and people were ringing each other, I think multiple times to get confirmation because it was such a shock," he told ABC TV on Friday.

"Kimberley looked fit, she had got fitter in recent times and there was no history of heart condition and that is why it's such a tremendous shock for the entire Labor family today."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the senator was a "serious parliamentarian who had a deep interest in Australia's national security".

"She had a passion about Australia's national interest and argued for it," he said.

"She demonstrated that her passion for her country was always greater than any partisan view. She clearly loved her country and it genuinely showed."

Defence Minister Peter Dutton described the late senator as one of the very best in parliament.

"She was a real hawk on national security and I think the parliament will miss her," he said.

"Our country's poorer for her passing, at 52, it's devastating, obviously, for everyone who knew her."

Senator Kitching joined the Senate in 2016 and was a member of the Labor party for almost three decades.

She was born in Brisbane in 1970 and became a Melbourne councillor between 2001 and 2004.

Senator Kitching also worked as a general manager at the Health Workers' Union and as a special counsel at legal firm Cornwall Stodart.

She chaired parliament's Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee and was the deputy chair of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee.

© AAP 2022