Officials fail to explain where $2 billion for a bushfire recovery fund is coming from
Less than $200 million in federal funding has gone out the door to bushfire affected communities from a multi-billion dollar fund lauded by the Morrison Government during the bushfire crisis.
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Less than $200 million in federal funding has gone out the door to bushfire affected communities from a multi-billion dollar fund that only exists in theory.
The Morrison Government’s $2 billion National Bushfire Recovery Fund was created on January 6 as part of a two-year plan to “rebuild communities and livelihoods,” but officials have been unable to explain where the money is coming from in the budget when asked at a senate estimates hearing.
“The $2 billion fund is a notional fund,” National Bushfire Recovery Agency deputy co-ordinator Abigail Bradshaw told senators yesterday.
“We operate on the basis of the identified and announced $2 billion.”
The question of where the money would come from was ultimately taken “on notice” to be answered at a later date.
From this “notional” budget, the Agency’s co-ordinator Andrew Colvin said “over $380 million” had already been rolled out to communities through a “range of measures,” but later clarified just $205 million of this was through the Fund.
“We are expecting significant costs to occur before the end of the financial year around debris removal for instance,” he said.
“The $205 million out the door at the moment with the very clear expectation that … number will go up significantly.”
However analysis of spending from the Fund by The Daily Telegraph found the actual amount of money hitting the ground in bushfire areas is even less, as some of the cash had not yet been spent or was not included.
The government claimed $7.1 million has been paid out to volunteer firefighters, but at the time the fund was announced, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was “in addition” to the compensation scheme for volunteers.
The fund also paid out $21.6 million to three major charities - $10 million each for the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul Society, and $1.6 million for Anglicare.
But Mr Colvin told estimates that from these charities only $4.7 million had been delivered to 4,833 people so far.
Mr Colvin said it was estimated the Commonwealth’s spend on debris clearing in NSW would be about $400 million, with $37.5 million in Victoria and the amount for NSW not yet known.
“This is demand driven,“ he said.
When the Fund was announced, Mr Morrison said about $500 million would be spent this financial year.
The largest amounts paid out so far included $60 million given to local governments and $43.5 million to a Primary Industries Grants Program.
Both of these are not administered by the federal government.