Bushfires: Donors ‘should direct where the money goes’

Bushfire donations won’t all be directed where they are most needed, a legal expert warns.

Picture: AAP

The surge of donations prompted by Australia’s season of megafires won’t all be directed where they are most needed, something ­donors need to “seriously consider”, a legal expert has warned.

Michael Eburn, an emergency management law specialist at the Australian National University, told The Australian that support for the “phenomenal” volunteer firefighters had seen unpreced­ented sums of money directed ­towards firefighting organisations.

Yet, while the firefighters were volunteers, organisations such as the NSW Rural Fire Service were government-funded, with a trust deed that strictly limited any spending from donations to firefighting equipment and training.

Comedian Celeste Barber’s Facebook fundraiser for the NSW RFS smashed all previous records on the social media platform, reaching $42m on Tuesday — and rising.

The money raised has been direct­ed to the RFS trustees, which generally handle donations of about $1m a year.

Barber has posted that she plans to talk to the NSW RFS about where the money will go, saying she expected the large sum raised would be spread to the ­Victorian Country Fire Authority, the South Australia Country Fire Service, the families of those who lost loved ones in fires and the Red Cross.

Other stars are following suit, with actor Chris Hems­worth kickstarting his own fundraiser on Tuesday with a $1m pledge.

Hi everyone. Like you, I want to support the fight against the bushfires here in Australia. My family and I are contributing a million dollars. Hopefully you guys can chip in too. Every penny counts so whatever you can muster up is greatly appreciated.https://t.co/KcBpMe7QvY pic.twitter.com/gYuA4LELZM

— Chris Hemsworth (@chrishemsworth) January 7, 2020

Superstar Elton John on Tuesday night pledged $1m to the bushfire recovery effort during his concert at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena.

“There are people out there who have lost their lives trying to save homes,” he said. “And the plight of their animals ... a loss of their habitat that frankly is on a biblical scale and heartbreaking.

“Therefore tonight I will be pledging one million dollars to support the bushfire relief fund,” he said to massive applause from the crowd.

Dr Eburn said the RFS was ­legally prohibited from sharing the money with other organisations. “That’s not her prerogative (how the money is spent). She has no say in the matter at all,” he said.

“I think a lot of people are going to be so disappointed when they realise how hamstrung these organisations are. They might want to buy new boots for the firefighters or pay for their lunch but that’s not what this is doing.”

Dr Eburn said while firefighting organisations could use the ­donations in the longer term, they were not set up to manage an ongoing humanitarian crisis.

If people wanted to donate to more immediate relief programs for evacuees or wildlife rescue programs, non-government organisations such as the Red Cross, the Salvation Army or WIRES were better equipped to distribute the money more quickly and across a wider range of beneficiaries.

“That would include people who have lost homes, local businesses, rebuilding community institutions­, like a scouts hall,” he said.

“I think it’s great that people are putting their money up, and I think the (firefighting) volunteers are doing a phenomenal job, but people have to think seriously about where they are putting their donations.”

Australia’s Red Cross Disaster Response and Recovery Fund has so far raised $31m and announced on Tuesday that it would be expandin­g its recovery work in bushfire-­affected communities.