Thursday, 18 April 2024

 Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (11:42): (487) My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services. The Gannawarra Shire Council area suffered significant damage to its road network during the October 2022 flood. Under the government’s natural disaster funding program, the council lodged certified claims for $8.6 million in October 2023. The contractors for these works were appointed in December 2023, and to date the council has only received authorisation for $1.6 million of these works. When will the council receive authorisation for the other $7 million of urgent works to repair their flood-damaged roads?

The PRESIDENT: I am concerned that that should be directed to the minister for roads, but, Mr Mulholland, the minister has indicated she is prepared to respond.

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (11:43): Thank you, President. You are right, the minister for roads would be better placed to provide an update in relation to specific projects, but what Mr Mulholland is referring to are the disaster recovery funding arrangements in relation to the ability for councils to repair flood-damaged or emergency-damaged assets and the hurdles that they have to jump in relation to the parameters to access that joint funding. I am on the record as sharing that frustration, and I am very optimistic that the federal review of the DRFA is going to help streamline these processes.

Of course I have regular conversations with councils, and Gannawarra have been at the forefront of advocacy in relation to the fact that this is a difficult system to navigate. You have to provide evidence and you have to demonstrate that the damage was not pre-existing. There is a balance here. You can understand why the federal government’s eligibility requires some evidence that it is a consequence of an emergency, which is what the fund is provided for, but we are also championing better, more streamlined, easier processes. I want councils to have the confidence to go ahead and fix damaged material with the knowledge that they are going to have that money recompensed. I continue to work with council and join in their advocacy, making sure that we do what we can to ensure that they are best placed to meet the federal government’s requirements.

 Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (11:44): I am sure they would have been able to get on and fix those roads if they had received the other $7 million. The cost of road maintenance continues to increase every month, and there is a risk that contractors may not do these urgent road repairs for the original tender price. Will the government pay escalation costs to councils for these road repair works given it is the government that has been so slow in approving the funding applications under the natural disaster arrangements?

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (11:45): Mr Mulholland, what I might do is offer you and any other of your colleagues a briefing on how DRFA works. I am not saying that I am particularly happy with how it operates, but that is the system with which we are having to operate now. Perhaps we should do that offline, because your question actually does not make any sense as it is based on a misunderstanding of how the federal–state relationship works and the fact that the federal guidelines are what we have to work within. As Minister for Emergency Services, I am well placed to assist councils, and ERV and EMV are standing side by side and ensuring that we get the best bang for buck from the federal government, but I cannot step outside of the process. Your suggestion that perhaps I can demonstrates a lack of understanding about how this works.