Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

My question is also to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Cormann. When the $2 billion National Bushfire Recovery Fund was announced in January, Prime Minister Scott Morrison claimed the funds would 'be ready to hit the ground in communities where the fire front has passed to help them rebuild'. Can the minister confirm that figures released earlier this week have revealed the government has paid out less than $260 million, or less than one in $8 promised, from its $2 billion fund months after the fires hit?