Labor leader Anthony Albanese has lashed the Morrison government’s $2 billion bushfire recovery fund as overly bureaucratic and poorly targeted.
Just 291,000 of the 7.1 million people who live in local government areas impacted directly or indirectly by the 2019-20 bushfires have received disaster recovery payments, National Bushfire Recovery Agency deputy coordinator Major General Andrew Hocking told a Senate inquiry on Tuesday.
A separate Senate inquiry earlier heard just 21,405 of the 640,000 businesses in bushfire-affected areas have received a grant or concessional loan from the Commonwealth.
The state and Commonwealth disaster recovery payments will be reviewed, amid concerns some areas have unfairly missed out.
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