Celeste Barber: Victoria snubbed by $51m bushfire fund decision
Just how the mammoth $51 million raised by Celeste Barber during Australia’s bushfire crisis will be spent has been decided — and it’s not good news for affected Victorians hoping to see the funds.
Millions of dollars raised in comedian Celeste Barber's bushfire appeal can be used to support injured firefighters and the families of fallen heroes, a court has ruled.
The record-breaking Facebook campaign raked in $51 million for the NSW Rural Fire Service in January, with Barber telling donors she'd split the money with other charities and interstate brigades.
But a Supreme Court judge has ruled the cash bonanza must be spent within the NSW RFS.
The RFS had feared the kitty could only go towards equipment, training, and operational costs under rules governing the Brigades Donations Fund trust.
But Justice Slattery ruled that some of the funds may be spent on physical and mental health training, trauma counselling and other programs to support individual NSW RFS fireys.
And relatives of volunteers who lost their lives, alongside those hurt in the line of duty who need rehabilitation can alsobenefit from the money under the guidelines, he said.
However, the NSW state attorney-general had argued such assistance could be used to encourage more volunteers to join and thus could technically be permitted.
Comedian and social media star Barber’s mammoth fundraising effort quickly exceeded its initial goal, which led her to state she wished for the funds to be distributed more widely.
Victoria’s fire services and wildlife charities were included in this proposal along with similar funds in South Australia.
The NSW RFS wanted to honour Barber’s wishes to help victims from fire-ravaged communities and animals by passing some of the money onto wildlife rescue organisation WIRES, the Red Cross and interstate brigades.
Justice Slattery has previously noted the NSW RFS was assisted by interstate and overseas brigades during the unprecedented blazes, with some of those fireys dying.
But the judge said the staggering sum is not allowed to be shared with other brigades or charities.
“Some donors may have intended or hoped that the money they donated would be used for purposes beyond those which the court has advised are permissible,” Justice Slattery said.
“Despite the trustees’ wish to honour those intentions or hopes the law provides principles than ensure a degree of certainty in the application of trust funds including charitable trust funds.”
And the judge ordered both the NSW RFS and the Attorney-General’s legal costs be paid out of the charity fund.
During the catastrophic summer bushfires Ms Barber mobilised her 7 million Instagram followers for the online campaign that went viral, securing donations from people around the world including Hollywood’s elite.
The 38-year-old’s initial target was $30,000 but within days that swelled to $51 million — the largest single fundraiser in the history of Facebook.
Ms Barber, whose in-laws lost their home during the blazes, was hailed for having more impact on the bushfire crisis than most politicians.
It culminated in the Tweed Heads local hosting the huge Fire Fight Australia concert in February.
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Originally published as Celeste Barber: Victoria snubbed by $51m bushfire fund decision
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