Thursday, 5 March 2020

Bushfire recovery initiatives

Mr WALSH (Murray Plains) (11:29): My question is to the Premier. At the same time as the Treasurer announced $4 billion of budget cuts your government owes the Heyfield Lions Club $140 000 in fodder transport subsidies. Despite promises from your government that those who carted donated hay to bushfire-affected farmers would not be out of pocket, the Lions Club has not been paid. Why has the government failed to allocate sufficient funding to ensure everyone who transported donated fodder to the Gippsland and Upper Murray bushfire regions receives the transport subsidy that you promised?

Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (11:30): I thank the member for his question. As I understand it the Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Regional Development had a meeting with the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) yesterday in relation to these matters. I am more than happy to give the member an undertaking that I will follow up with her and any relevant officials as to the payment of that subsidy. We are very grateful to so many people who at our worst moment came together—

Members interjecting.

Mr ANDREWS: Well, if some want to interrupt—

Members interjecting.

Mr ANDREWS: No, no.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr ANDREWS: Regardless of the interjections coming from those opposite, I will take the opportunity on behalf of the government and all Victorians to thank every single community member, some in fire-affected communities, some a long way from fire-affected communities who, recognising that at the worst of times we are all in this together, pitched in to provide support. Some of that support was donating time, some of it was donating labour, some of it was donating goods and services. We are incredibly grateful to every single one of those Victorians, of large and small contributions in communities that are demonstrably better off because of this.

I was very pleased just yesterday to be able to speak to the mayors of the three most directly affected shires and to have a lengthy conversation with each of them about how things are going. Pleasingly, significant progress is being made in lots of those most important areas. But in the course of those discussions there were things that can be improved, there were things that can be done better, and since those conversations, and indeed every day since the fires started, we have been working across the political divide—or so we thought—to provide the best possible support for those communities. And that will not change. Whether it is working with the member for East Gippsland or working with the member for Benambra or any other affected member, we are grateful to everyone who has pitched in.

As I said at the outset—the Leader of the Opposition may not have been listening—the Minister for Agriculture met with the VFF yesterday, who understand that they are central to the delivery of this program. I am happy to undertake to follow up and make sure that anyone who is owed any amount of money receives that payment. But at this stage I want to make it really clear that not only will people receive payment but they will receive the gratitude of the government, the Parliament and the broader Victorian community. We will not use these fires as an opportunity to potentially obtain political advantage. We will instead just get on and do what needs to be done—something that sadly is lost on many.

Mr WALSH (Murray Plains) (11:33): The government also owes the Timboon Lions Club almost $300 000 for carting 83 truckloads of hay to Corryong. They have now been told the money has run out and they are unlikely to have these costs met. At the same time as the Treasurer has announced $4 billion of budget cuts, why has the Premier turned his back on these very generous Victorians who sprang into action to help bushfire-affected farmers and to ensure that animals did not starve?

Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (11:33): Well, I am surprised that the member would seek to link issues. Well, firstly I will challenge the assertions about what the Treasurer said and what the forthcoming budget will look like; that is point one. Point two: I would have thought that a senior office-holder of the VFF—former—would have had some idea that the VFF administer this program, and the Minister for Agriculture—

Ms McLeish: There’s no money.

Mr ANDREWS: It is Victorians’ money. It is not yours, it is not mine.

Members interjecting.

Mr ANDREWS: It is administered by the VFF, and I do not know that people playing political games on this will help the VFF administer it any better. In fact I think this sort of tactic is more about those opposite than anyone affected by fire.

Mr Walsh: On a point of order, Speaker, the question was very clearly about why these Lions clubs have not been paid and the fact that they have been told there is no money left. Do I take it that the Premier is saying he is going to meet all the commitments that are necessary? That is what we need for these service clubs and these people who donated the hay and the people that carted it to get to these desperate bushfire-affected farmers. Bring the Premier back to answering the question and get a commitment that they will actually be paid.

The SPEAKER: I understand the question that was asked. The Premier was being relevant to it.

Mr ANDREWS: As I was saying, the Minister for Agriculture met with the Victorian Farmers Federation yesterday. I have given the member an undertaking that I will follow up with her and anybody else that I need to speak to about this matter—

Members interjecting.

Mr ANDREWS: You keep playing politics. Shame on you.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Attorney-General is waiting to make a ministers statement.