LESS THAN ONE PER CENT OF BUSHFIRE FUNDING PROGRAMS SPENT

Murray Watt MP.
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3 years ago
LESS THAN ONE PER CENT OF BUSHFIRE FUNDING PROGRAMS SPENT
Murray Watt MP
Fresh data proves the Morrison Government continues to fail bushfire survivors, with barely any money from multiple funding programs spent more than a year after the Black Summer fires.
 
The latest figures, released by the National Bushfire Recovery Agency this month, show less than one per cent of funding announced for telecommunications upgrades, native wildlife rehabilitation and primary producer support has actually been released by the Morrison Government in the 13 months since the fires.

Programs designed to help small businesses get back on their feet have also been painstakingly slow to roll out money from the $2 billion Bushfire Recovery Fund, which was announced in January 2020.


www.bushfirerecovery.gov.au/funding

It comes on top of a report released this week by Per Capita which showed only half of the overall bushfire recovery funding promised had actually been spent.

It’s clear Australians in bushfire-affected regions want and need this money, so it beggars belief the Morrison Government is dragging its feet.

This is an insult to hard-working Australians who just want what they were promised.

Sadly, the Prime Minister forgot bushfire survivors the minute he walked off the fire ground.

Scott Morrison must explain why several programs he and his Ministers announced as part of his bushfire package have failed so spectacularly to actually fund projects on the ground.

In the year since the bushfires, Scott Morrison and his Government have failed to accept all recommendations from the Bushfire Royal Commission and failed to respond to the interim report from the ongoing Senate inquiry Lessons to be learned in relation to the Australian bushfire season 2019-20.
 
The failure and gross negligence is staggering.
 
Even with bushfire victims, Scott Morrison has shown once again that he’ll be there for the photo op, but not the follow up.
 
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