Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Watt, I'm more than happy to take on notice the allegations that you're making about some fund that hasn't been spent at all. However, what I would like to say to you is that $1.8 billion is rolling into communities and supporting individuals, and it has already gone out the door and is supporting bushfire impacted communities. That's in addition to a number of other measures, such as small business measures that have been put in place, courtesy of programs that have been operated by Minister Cash, to assist small business. That includes things like, in my home state, funding being made available because of the bushfire smoke taint that impacted the grape growers. The amount of money that has been provided by the federal government in support of our bushfire affected communities continues to be made available to them as they go through the very difficult task of rebuilding, and we have absolutely not shirked our responsibility to make that money available. The money is going out the door.