MidCoast Council mayor David West said psychological trauma caused by the 2019 bushfire crisis will impact victims and the community for a long time.
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He said this on the one year anniversary of the disaster.
"Psychosis from that bushfire is going to last for a long time," Cr West said.
"Are we going to get over this overnight? No, this is going to be with us for years and it really is the psychological part of it that is bothering me more than anything."
Cr West said he thinks about "the shoulders I cried on and those who cried on my shoulders" every day.
"The part you don't see are the people walking the streets who aren't smiling," Cr West said.
"They are the people who haven't been able to pick up and move on."
Farmers are still struggling from the impact of the fires and severe drought.
"I talk to farmers and they are still suffering because the ground is still terribly dry and you can see that because the bush virtually hasn't regenerated," Cr West said.
"There's no groundwater and stock feed is low.
"We're coming into a very wet summer which will benefit farmers, but that's a two-edged sword as well because top soil will be washed away where it's no longer stabilised by the vegetation.
"That part of the impact is visible and palpable."
Cr West said bushfire victims would be "far worse off than they are now" without State and federal government support.
Council's bushfire reference group has become a 'power tool' according to Cr West.
He chairs the group at fortnightly meetings.
"We're talking to the leaders within the community, the people that run the halls and are the voices of small communities to pass on information," Cr West said.
"A lot of things they are alluding to are picking up the damage from the fire.
"These people are also learning and being taught how to deal with issues and lead their people to talk with them about the horror of the fire and drought."
He said group members have shown enthusiasm to work with council on the issues.
"We're moving forward, we getting some great ideas from people," Cr West said.
"It's amazing when you get a group of people that have been impacted in such a way their thought processes change.
"They are starting to realise what governments can and can't do and they're modifying their requests to fit within the bounds of what can be achieved."
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