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

I reject the premise of your question because I believe the Prime Minister has been a very strong Prime Minister in making sure that funding has immediately been made available to many communities across Australia, and that funding is out the door. As I have already said, the total spend on the bushfire recovery has been $1.8 billion, and this includes the National Bushfire Recovery Fund and existing support mechanisms. Senator, you know you're conflating two different funding pools because they have two different purposes. The bushfire recovery funds that have been made available to our communities that have been so devastatingly impacted by bushfires have been expended in our communities. The fund to which you refer has a completely different purpose.