Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very disappointed that the minister for emergency management isn't able to be in this chamber right now to hear the questions about the responsibilities that he has, and the first is around the Emergency Response Fund. It's been more than two years since the $4 billion Emergency Response Fund was announced. That was in the 2019 budget speech, and in the latest rounds of estimates it was confirmed that the ERF has still not released a single cent—not a cent. The fund could be building cyclone shelters, flood levees, firebreaks right now. Instead, it's languishing in the Prime Minister's bank account. What it's done over that time, though, is raise more than $472 million in interest. How is it fair that my bushfire and flood ravaged electorate of Macquarie has not had a single investment from this fund, but the government is earning interest? The forward estimates show that the ERF will earn the government more than $1 billion in interest. How have we not seen a cent from this fund in two years?

The government has tried to pretend that the reason the ERF hasn't been accessed is that there isn't a need. Well, just come to Macquarie and have a look. But you only have to look at the National Flood Infrastructure Mitigation Program, the only pocket of funding that's been announced, although not released, through the ERF, so let's turn to that program which the minister referred to much earlier. The $50 million mitigation program was announced to fund 22 projects across the country. Of those projects, not a single one was in Macquarie, an electorate devastated in the last 12 months not just by one flood but by two. It's not surprising that electorates desperately in need of flood mitigation are missing out. It's happening in towns and communities all across the country. More than 70 projects were submitted for consideration to the program totalling over $230 million. That means it was oversubscribed nearly five times, and the minister wants to act like there's adequate funding, when we have all that other money just sitting there and earning interest. It's an absolute disgrace.

In Macquarie we are still waiting desperately for the government to step up and provide funding support, particularly for riverbed restoration. The riverbanks have been devastated and their restoration will need federal government support. The $150 million in recovery funding could be accessed right now to help the Hawkesbury—right now, no-one would need to wait and that would help residents of Greens Road, Upper Colo, people who have been left in limbo for three months. I'd also like to know: when will we finally begin to see funding released from the ERF and communities protected? When will communities across Australia know how next financial year's ERF funding will be allocated? Why are hundreds of millions of dollars in recovery funding sitting untouched in the ERF? Why is this government more interested in earning hundreds of millions of dollars in interest from the ERF than in protecting communities like mine?

I want to turn to the National Recovery and Resilience Agency, which was meant to start. The National Bushfire Recovery Agency was meant to keep operating until the end of the year, but it's been swallowed up by this new agency. We welcome the new agency, but we're very concerned to see a repeat of the rorting and jobs for mates that we saw with the NBRA. I turn to the $177 million for local economic recovery funding across New South Wales, where not a cent went to the state Labor electorate of the Blue Mountains, which is in my electorate. This was despite two separate commissioned reports showing the Blue Mountains was profoundly damaged, both environmentally and economically, by the Black Summer fires. The new agency is now in charge of billions of dollars of recovery and resilience funding. They must guarantee areas that need help are given it. I hope it will be better, but I'm not holding out much hope because no guidelines were released. There were no guidelines, no processes and no consultation for the latest $280 million Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants.

In terms of jobs for mates, they've handed the reigns of the new National Recovery and Resilience Agency to Shane Stone, the former Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, who admitted in estimates to being a life member of the Victorian Liberal Party and the Country Liberal Party. My question is: why hasn't he met with those of us who have bushfire ravaged areas? We have certainly requested meetings, and we look forward to meeting. Why has the government announced hundreds of millions in funding with no guidelines, no processes and no warnings? What will the minister do to ensure this funding will not be rorted, like the local economic recovery funding? (Time expired)

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