State Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland said she had referred more than $420 million in Victorian bushfire recovery funding to the Victorian auditor-general for investigation.
She claims this follows allegations that the money has propped up state government programs outside the fire-affected regions.
“More than $420 million has been announced, yet nine months later people who lost their homes are still asking where the recovery is,” Ms Cleeland said.
“This is not about accounting for money on a spreadsheet. This is about families who lost everything and communities that are still waiting for the basic support they were promised.
“If hundreds of millions of dollars has been committed, Victorians should be able to see where it has gone.”
Ms Cleeland’s referral to the Victorian Auditor-General's Office covers several areas of concern.
On temporary housing, she notes that while more than $100 million had been allocated, only two modular homes and three caravans had been delivered in Strathbogie Shire.
The state government’s cleanup program was also flagged as remaining incomplete nine months after the fires.
Mental health funding has also been raised as a concern, with several local government areas going without on-the-ground mental health support several months after the fires, and community grants, which, Ms Cleeland suggests, one program prevented community groups from qualifying.
Ms Cleeland also said that, despite a two-year deadline for the rebuilding of important community infrastructure under the Disaster Ready Fund, no tenders had been issued, with applications stalled in the process at the Department of Justice and Community Safety.
In response to Ms Cleeland’s claims, Emergency Services Minister Paul Edbrooke said the Victorian Government had been providing support since the early stages of the January bushfires.
“We’ve been on the ground since day one delivering a wide range of supports to bushfire-affected communities, including recovery hubs, financial assistance, clean-up, accommodation, legal case management and mental health services,” Mr Edbrooke said.
“Help remains available, and anyone in need should call the Recovery Hotline on 1800 560 760.
“We’ll keep listening to communities and looking at what more we can do to help people recover and rebuild.
“The Liberal-One Nation Coalition needs to explain how its plan to axe 31,000 frontline jobs won’t gut our fire agencies or take recovery workers off the ground when Victorians need them most.”
Ms Cleeland also raised concerns about funding traceability, pointing to allegations that the Commonwealth was unable to track its own co-contributed funding.
On the ground, she said residents remained homeless, with ongoing worries about rate relief and delays in planning and permit approvals.
“The Labor Government cannot point to a $420 million headline and expect that to be the end of the conversation,” Ms Cleeland said.
“We need to know what has been spent, where it has been spent, who received it and what Victorians got for it.
“Fire-affected communities have done their part. They deserve answers about where their recovery funding has gone.”
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