A visit by Governor-General Quentin Bryce has given flood-affected communities in northwest NSW a morale boost.
Ms Bryce flew to Moree on Tuesday morning to witness the clean-up operation after last week's inundations.
'She's been very well received,' Moree mayor Katrina Humphries told AAP.
'She's a very well-informed and compassionate lady.'
Dressed in a grey trouser suit and clutching a cream-coloured bag, Ms Bryce received a briefing from local authorities before meeting residents facing the task of clearing out waterlogged homes.
Ms Bryce also visited a cotton farm that has suffered extensive damage.
She then flew by Seahawk helicopter to flood-affected Wee Waa, about 100km southwest of Moree.
There, Ms Bryce met more locals and a group of school students and called in at the town's evacuation centre.
Ms Humphries said Moree residents had been physically, emotionally and financially exhausted by the floods.
The local pub had reopened but nobody had any cash to spend there, she said.
'It's a rural community and they (residents) haven't had work for weeks - not just since the floods started but also during the rain leading up to them.'
Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced new government grants on Tuesday worth up to $15,000 for primary producers and small businesses in Moree, Narrabri and Gwydir local government areas.
Individuals affected by the floods in those same areas can already claim Centrelink payments of up to $1000 per adult and $400 per child.
About 7000 people were still isolated in northern NSW on Tuesday, State Emergency Service (SES) Commissioner Murray Kear said.
'All the rivers are starting to subside but that still leaves a number of people isolated, as well as a clean-up process and the recovery process beginning in many towns,' Mr Kear told AAP.
The threat was far from over, he added.
Towns like Bourke and Walgett could be badly flooded in the next few weeks as western flowing rivers headed towards the already flooded Darling River system, along with water flowing down from Queensland.
