Hopes rise bushfire funding rejection can be reversed

Small towns reeling from bushfire funding snub have been given a glimmer of hope. Find out why.

Bushfire affected communities in East Gippsland and the Upper Murray are digging deep once more to fight for federal government funding denied to them on an technicality.

Volunteers already exhausted from the Black Summer fires rebuild have been given a glimmer of hope the recent denial of funding for projects in Sarsfield, Ensay, Wairewa and Tintaldra can be reversed.

Legal advice has been sought since the National Resilience and Recovery Agency’s knock-back on the grounds the applications were made by a state government entity which was not allowed under the program guidelines.

Further angering community groups was being told they were responsible for ensuring applications were eligible after some engaged outside help to complete them.

Volunteers manage recreation reserves on behalf of the government and government ABNs were used in the applications and triggered the knock-backs.

But lawyer Katherine Argentino from Bairnsdale legal firm Warren, Graham and Murphy said there was strong grounds to fight.

“I consider it a blanket denial which is not in line with the purpose and principles of the Commonwealth’s grant rules and guidelines,” she said.

Wairewa sought funds to restore a historic timber trestle bridge severely damaged in the fire and the town’s community recovery committee member John Appleby said missing out on funding was “another kick in the guts”.

“A lot of people put a lot of work into applications,” he said.

“The committee is gutted, the community is gutted.”

His sentiments were shared by Ensay’s Kym Skews, who was behind an application to improve the town’s recreation reserve with upgraded showers and toilets and better lighting to assist emergency aircraft land safely.

“We spent hundreds of hours putting these applications together and the stress of it all kept us awake at night,’ she said.

“Then to have it callously cancelled out and no communication entered into are certainly not the actions to assist with recovery and engender resilience.”

Fire approaches a winery near Sarsfield in late 2019.

Sarsfield Community Association president Simon Hof said the applications should be assessed again based on the legal advice.

“The guidelines are easy to read,” he said.

“Section 5.1 has a list of entities which are eligible to apply, including ‘an incorporated not-for-profit organisation’ which fits the hall committee perfectly.

“The next section has a list of entities which aren’t eligible, which includes ‘a Commonwealth

or state government agency or body (including government business enterprises) with the exception of those entities referred to in Section 5.1.”

In the Upper Murray, Tintaldra Recreation Reserve committee of management was left devastated when its bid for $400,000 also missed out.

“If we are aren’t eligible for any funding DEWLP better work out how they are going to fund these recreation reserves because I’m not doing any more cake stalls,” committee president Jo Mackinnon said.

“It was a waste of everyone’s time and energy when it could have been easily fixed with a quick phone call.

“The worst thing is the application wasn’t even looked at.”