NSW flood crisis leads to outdated images & half-truths spreading online

It's not the first time old images of the PM have spread amid the current flood crisis.

An old image of Prime Minister Scott Morrison visiting the Hawkesbury to survey flood damage in 2021 has spread online in recent days, with some people claiming it showed him in Lismore or other parts of NSW amid the current flood crisis.

This is how The Canberra Times described the PM's visit at the time:

"Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited the Hawkesbury, arriving at RAAF Base Richmond, today, (March 24) to get a better perspective about the damage caused by the flood."

In addition, we've seen some claims spread that the federal & NSW governments - both of which being Coalition governments - aren't helping residents in Lismore because it is a "safe Labor seat."

On a federal level, Lismore is part of the seat of Page - currently held by Nationals MP Kevin Hogan.

On a state level, Lismore is held by Labor MP Janelle Saffin - but the claim of it being a "safe seat" isn't exactly true.

At the 2019 NSW state election, the seat saw a margin of just over 1.5% on a two-party-preferred level - Labor holding 51.35% of the vote.

However, electorates are only usually described as a "safe seat" when the winning party (or independent) gets around 56-60 percent of the vote.

Previously, Lismore was held by Protectionist Thomas Ewing, Independent Liberal John Coleman & George Nesbitt  from both the Liberal Reform & Nationalist parties.

From 1927 onwards, it was held by the Nationals (then known as the Country Party, and later as the National Country Party), with the exception of Labor's Keith Compton from 1959 until 1965 - as well as Bruce Duncan, who resigned from the Nationals & held the seat as an independent from 1982-1988.

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