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

As I have said to the senator on numerous occasions, there have been a huge range of programs put in place to assist our bushfire affected communities, including the communities to which the senator refers. If you'd like, I'm quite happy to go through a number of programs. For instance, there is the support that's been provided to small businesses in these communities. But the fund to which you refer, senator, is a specific fund with a specific purpose with a specific set of criteria. Once all other funding has been exhausted, that fund will come into effect. That fund is in place into the future to make sure that we are always able, year after year after year, to put funding in place to assist these communities to prepare for next year. The funding that is currently being expended is from the bushfire response and recovery fund from 2020.