The New South Wales (NSW) government has referred a damning report on its own handling of Black Summer bushfire recovery grants to the state’s corruption watchdog, after threats of a referral from the opposition.
A report by the NSW auditor-general revealed former deputy premier John Barilaro’s office intervened in the program and inexplicably created a $1 million (US$692,000) minimum for fast-tracked bushfire recovery projects.
That threshold cut all applications from Labor electorates from the $100 million (US$69.2 million) first round, including the badly-affected Blue Mountains and Tenterfield regions.
The audit, tabled in NSW parliament on Thursday, showed 21 fast-tracked projects worth more than $95 million (US$65.8 million) were in coalition seats and one worth $12.5 million (US$8.6 million) was in an independent electorate.
Labor leader Chris Minns threatened to refer the issue to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) if the ex-Nationals leader failed to answer questions about the program.
However, the Department of Premier and Cabinet had already handed the report to the corruption watchdog on Friday, a spokesman for Premier Dominic Perrottet told AAP.
A number of measures strengthening integrity in grants programs were already implemented by the premier, which addressed issues in the report and were consistent with the auditor-general’s recommendations, a spokesman for the premier said.
“The premier’s record on supporting communities hit by natural disasters is well known and the NSW government will continue to support any and all communities in need with record funding,” the spokesman added.
“The Labor Party should not politicise ICAC and listen to the recent advice from ICAC chief commissioner John Hatzistergos when he said, ‘It is inappropriate to weaponise a referral to the commission for attention or political advantage’.”
Earlier, NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole also defended the government’s handling of grants, citing the new guidelines adopted by the government.
The audit showed both Blue Mountains and Tenterfield received funding for projects totalling more than $16 million (US$11 million) in the final round of the program, eight months after the first grants were awarded.
“As part of those programs, there was significant funding that was rolled out the door to those communities that were impacted by bushfires,” Toole told reporters in Orange on Friday.
Toole said the government had reviewed grant guidelines and implemented changes.
Minns said he wanted a formal investigation into decisions by Barilaro’s office.
“There needs to be an explanation - if there isn’t, we will refer it to the ICAC,” Minns told reporters earlier on Friday.
Minns said it couldn’t be that a damning auditor-general’s report could disappear from view “as if it had not been written in the first place”.
Barilaro has not commented publicly on the report.
The $541.8 million Bushfire Local Economic Recovery program was jointly funded by the state and federal governments and administered by NSW.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said disaster relief should always be distributed based on need.
“We all have a responsibility to deliver where it’s needed, not to deliver politically,” Albanese told reporters after the national cabinet meeting in Canberra.
Former coalition minister and Bega MP Andrew Constance said he was “incredulous” that party politics appears to have stopped urgent bushfire grant funding being distributed to some communities.
In Bega Valley Shire, a Liberal-held area where 500 homes were lost, the only fast-tracked project was a $3 million proposal with neighbouring Snowy Valley.
“I’m incredulous and I know fire communities will be incredulous,” Constance told 2GB.
Constance, who retired in 2021, said Barilaro had led the state’s recovery and taken necessary steps but now needed to explain himself.
The report acknowledged most of the worst-affected regions were held by coalition MPs but ravaged areas were among those excluded.
