Former emergency services chiefs say they have been consistently ignored by the federal government about the potential for catastrophic natural disasters.
The Emergency Leaders for Climate Action group have called the handling of the latest flood crisis reminiscent of the lead up to the "Black Summer" bushfires, when the government ignored warnings months before disaster struck.
This time, the government was warned by its own agencies - such as the Bureau of Meteorology - in October that states needed to gear up for potential flooding disasters, former NSW fire commissioner Greg Mullins said.
"The Morrison government was missing in action - not listening," he told ABC News on Monday.
"It's their job to prevent this getting worse and into the future while the emergency services get on with the response."
The group is calling on the government to take action on climate change to prevent more frequent and severe disasters in the future.
"Those of us who do hold hoses know just how dangerous climate change has become," Mr Mullins said.
"Australia is under-prepared, and Canberra has no answers to how it will rapidly slash emissions this decade."
Differing accounts on timing of requests for aid
Meanwhile, the NSW and federal governments are at odds about the timing of requests for defence force assistance during the floods.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the state first requested the federal government send in the defence force on 27 February, before the full extent of the disaster hit northern NSW.
The state did not receive confirmation from the federal government on troop numbers and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) was also caught off guard by the announcement on March 5 that 5,000 troops were ready to help, the Herald says.
Resilience NSW commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons says he had no confirmation about troop numbers - hearing potential figures through a journalist and failing to receive clarification from the NSW ADF Brigadier.
But Emergency Management Minister Bridget McKenzie told the Herald as the federal government can't deploy the ADF into the states, it was up to the state government to decide where they should go and when.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended the federal government's response, telling the Nine Network that the defence forces and agencies involved responded as quickly as they could.
"We moved as quickly as the defence forces and the agencies can, " he said.
"No response, is ever going to be able to meet the overwhelming need. And the first response always comes from the community."
Nationals MP Kevin Hogan, whose NSW north coast electorate covers Lismore, said he believed help arrived on time, with aerial evacuation support arriving with hours of him asking for it.
Mr Hogan said if a request for troops had been knocked back in the first instance before flood waters surged, then it was a mistake.
Independent review to examine NSW floods response
Clean-up equipment which had been requested before flood waters receded arrived on the same day water levels went down in Lismore following a further request, he added.
"Did we need more in an unprecedented disaster like this? Yes," he told Sky News.
"But those two requests that I was part of happened within that timescale."
NSW Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said the government would be looking to launch an independent review of the immediate response and aftermath of floods, saying the government could always do better.
"I think we can always do better next time, there's no question of that," she told 2GB.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet flagged any review would look at how long it took defence forces to help, saying he'd have preferred them in disaster zones sooner.
It comes as NSW and Queensland begin an immense cleanup effort.
Nearly 7,500 defence personnel are expected to be helping with aid and recovery efforts by the end of Monday.
