Lismore's mayor says eight to 10-storey buildings could be the solution to a dire housing crisis in the flood-prone Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.
An estimated 1,300 people remain in emergency accommodation after the natural disaster hit the area in February, with many more still staying with family or friends.
A report from the independent flood inquiry has recommended urgently moving people out of high-risk areas on flood plains.
Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg has suggested high-rise residential development should be considered.
"You know for Lismore, you can't necessarily build out," he said.
"We all know what happens when you build out. We're on a flood plain and it goes under water in floods.
He said building up was "the obvious solution".
"We're not looking at 50 storeys, but I think you can comfortably build eight to 10-storey apartment blocks with your first two or three floors as storage and car parking," Mr Krieg said.
"So if we do get a flood, you're above that 15 to 16-metre flood height."
In the neighbouring Byron Shire many locals have been quick to voice their opposition to higher-density developments.
But local mayor Michael Lyon said the call to consider high-rise residential buildings had "some merit".
"I think it makes sense to cite that classic thing where you either go up, or in, or out," he said.
"Given the situation we're in ... and the lack of availability of land, I think it seems like a relatively sensible idea.
"I definitely feel it's worthy of further discussion."
Villages on the green?
The independent flood inquiry report also recommended fast-tracking more villages, and considering more cleared agricultural land for residential development.
Mr Lyon said he was keen to explore those options.
He said too much of the shire had been mapped as regionally significant farmland.
"[That] is why it's been so difficult for council in the past to provide the right sort of supply," Mr Lyon said.
"We know that the mapping is inaccurate in a lot of cases, and we don't need to use much of it.
"As people who live there would know, there is some really good farmland, and there is some land which isn't really significant at all."
Mr Lyon said he supported an eco-village model of smaller lot sizes and a diversity of housing types.
Further north in the Tweed Shire, which shares a border with the Gold Coast where high rises are common, Mayor Chris Cherry is cautious.
Ms Cherry said any push for increased building height limits should be led by the broader community.
"It needs to be a community decision on where they want to see that happen," she said.
"People don't need to go straight up to 20 storeys.
"People can think about some kind of medium-rise that would allow an increased density, allow access for young people to be able to afford units and things like that in very strategic centres."
