Where is the money trail?

The frustrations of bushfire recovery were laid bare last week when Federal Member for Indi Helen Haines visited Strathbogie and Murrindindi Shires on a two-day tour of fire-affected communities. Dr Haines had federal and state disaster funding - already under scrutiny by the community – in her crosshairs as she questioned the processes of grants and distribution. “Trying to follow the money trail is certainly part of my frustration as a Member of Parliament,” Dr Haines said. “I ask those questions of the Commonwealth and I ask those questions of the state (and) I think both our state members need to be asking those questions too.” Dr Haines also backed claims made to this masthead that no further requests for Commonwealth disaster funding had been made by the Victorian Government since early April. “They haven't asked, I know that for a fact,” she said. “The Commonwealth can't just do that. “That's the bit for me, that intersection between the state making the ask of the Commonwealth. “I've written to the Premier, the previous Emergency Services Minister and now the new one saying, ‘please make the ask’. “Show us the money trail. Where has it gone? “Again, we don’t know.” Dr Haines also questioned how money was allocated by the state government to individual councils. “When we calculate who gets what, the federal government first sends that money to the states. “The state then has the Victorian Grants Commission. “They undertake ‘horizontal equalisation’ and divvy up how much each council gets. “I think the formula is wrong.” She said metropolitan councils did not rely on such funding due to them having income streams not available in regional areas. “I think we should be looking at those…councils which do not rely on this funding. “They can create their own source of revenue in a way that we never can. “I think the Federal Assistance Grants Act desperately needs review. “That's something I will continue to push for; we need to revisit that formula.” Dr Haines said her experiences of responding to the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires only six months after she was first elected to parliament allowed her to understand the challenges facing recovering communities. “It’s a record I’ve seen played before,” she said. “Recovery takes a minimum of 10 years. That’s minimum. “A psychological recovery can last a lifetime.” Dr Haines also said the visit allowed her to see change in affected communities. “I'm seeing progress, coming here and seeing some clean-up and driving through the district and seeing what 800 millimetres of rain will do. “But what I also see is tiredness. “I see frustration. “But I see great community cohesion too.” She said recovery needed to be equally as cohesive between all levels of government. “It shouldn't be political; it should be about how we operationalise all the constraints that people have,” she said. “There are rules, regulations and laws, as we know, so how do we get the best outcome and the best use of taxpayer funds? “Again, you've got to be responsible (and) we're now entering a state election campaign environment and I think now is the time to be calling on whoever seeks to form government in Victoria to do better on bushfire recovery.”