No deal! Mount Barker Council misses out on bushfire recovery grant
Hills residents are likely to foot their own bushfire recovery bill after Mount Barker Council was denied its $1.4 million funding request by the Federal Government.
Adelaide Hills
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Mount Barker District Council is facing a long road to recovery after being denied $1.4 million in bushfire recovery assistance by the Federal Government.
Council CEO Andrew Stuart met with SA Premier Steven Marshall on Wednesday, where he was told it was unlikely any funding requests would be approved.
Grants, if any, would be allocated under an audit scheme, meaning the council will have to pay for its own repairs before being eligible to apply for reimbursement.
Meanwhile, Adelaide Hills Council and Kangaroo Island Council were among 40 bushfire affected regions across Australia to receive a $1 million grant from the $2 billion Commonwealth fund.
Mr Stuart said he was both shocked and frustrated” by the announcement with the council having already spend around $500,000 it ratepayer’s money on its estimated $1.4 million recovery bill.
He said 20 homes in Harrogate, Brukunga and parts of Mount Torrens were destroyed during the December 20 blazes, which also scorched a number of council assets such as roads, street signs and fencing.
“(On Wednesday), the Premier produced a letter from the Prime Minister saying that Mount Barker was to be treated as Category C, meaning, we will have to adhere to an audit and won’t get any money in advance,” he said.
“It means that we will have to spend council money on eligible expenditures, then submit receipts which will go through an audit, before the government may or may not agree to reimburse us.
“So we are left operating with a fair degree of uncertainty on where we will get support from, if any.
“It’s really left me, the mayor, and everyone who was there in shock. Why are we being treated differently to other councils? It very divisive and not good for our communities, where you have you have one part treated one way and the other another (way).”
Mayor Ann Ferguson said the decision was not only frustrating for council, but “heartbreaking” for residents.
“We were promised by the government after the fire, that things would be put back in place better than it was before. But if they don’t give us that money, how will they make good on that promise?,” she said.
“What I want to know is how we are different to other councils. Yes, the Adelaide Hills Council had more businesses affected by the fires, but we have a lot of farmers that are business people and it’s important that we have food producers in this country.
“It’s just so frustrating and this whole situation means that we may have to look at our budget as something will have to give.”
Member for Mayo Rebekha Sharkie said she had written to Disaster Management Minister David Littleproud to seek further clarification on the issue.
“There appears to be some ambiguity around which level of Government is responsible for determining the classification of the assistance and that needs to be sorted out,” she said.
“In my view, Mount Barker Council should be classified Category D because this will put the Council on the same financial level as the other councils and it gives them the assistance they need right now – which is what they want.”
In a statement to The Adelaide Hills News, Minister for Human Services Michelle Lensink said matters were out of her hands.
“The $1.4 million to the Mount Barker District Council is classified as Category C funding and under Commonwealth guidelines is subject to audit before payment can be made,” she said.
“The Mt Barker District Council CEO has been encouraged to provide a full copy of projects and invoices will be paid immediately when submitted to the government by the council.”
