Nationals’ Eden-Monaro candidate Trevor Hicks opposed bushfire relief package

The Nationals candidate for Saturday’s Eden-Monaro by-election, Trevor Hicks, voted against the Queanbeyan council’s $1m bushfire relief package at the height of last summer’s crisis.

Nationals candidate for Eden-Monaro Trevor Hicks, left, with Nationals member for New England Barnaby Joyce.

The Nationals candidate for Saturday’s Eden-Monaro by-election, Trevor Hicks, voted against the Queanbeyan council’s $1m bushfire relief package at the height of the summer crisis.

Mr Hicks — a councillor on the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council — voted down repairs to an evacuation centre, the waiving of council fees for victims, the hiring of more staff to lead recovery efforts and the provision of support to wildlife groups at a January 22 meeting when the fires were still raging.

The council put up $300,000 to waive council fees and subsidise public works in areas hit hardest by bushfire, a $25,000 advertising campaign to revive the economies of Braidwood and Bungendore, which were affected by the fires, and it examined providing a broader rebate on local rates to help disaster victims.

Mr Hicks defended his decision to oppose the relief program, saying it was inadequate.

“In January 2020 the bushfires came within 5km of my property at Captains Flat, devastating many of my friends and neighbours in the region,” he told The Australian.

“As the fires were still burning on the 22nd of January I believed that the direction for the spending of this package was premature and that direct cash grants may have been more suitable.”

According to the QPRC’s council meeting minutes, Mr Hicks first moved for the council to hold a workshop on the financial implications of the bushfires. He was the only councillor on the QRPC to vote down the relief measures moments later.

Mr Hicks said on Tuesday the package was too focused on employing extra staff to do the work of the NSW government.

“Six months on from the fires I am seeking clarity as to whether all the funds have been spent by council and what percentage of them were used in administration and consultancy fees,” he said.

“Recovery from the impacts of drought, bushfire and now COVID-19 won’t happen overnight, and government support must be given directly to those who need it most.”

Labor leapt on Mr Hick’s voting record on bushfire relief on the QPRC, as it tries to hold onto the marginal seat.

ALP candidate Kristy McBain has also faced questions on her record leading the Bega Council.

The Australian revealed last week the Bega Council had yet to spend a cent of its $600,000 disaster relief fund.

The summer bushfires have dominated the last days of the campaign, with Liberal candidate Fiona Kotvojs also facing questions over a submission to the Royal Commission into the blazes, in which she said fuel reduction was the only issue for fire prevention and that she doubted the need for an increased federal role in disaster management.

Opposition emergency management spokesman Murray Watt said Mr Hicks’ vote against the QPRC relief package disqualified him from holding federal office.

“If he couldn’t support his council constituents in the middle of a bushfire, why would he support them in parliament,” Senator Watt said on Tuesday.

“The two Coalition candidates have either actively opposed relief for bushfire victims or said there is no need for federal intervention.”