Show us the money

Member for Eildon Cindy McLeish has backed calls for an Auditor-General investigation into more than $400 million in bushfire recovery funding, saying fire-affected communities deserve to know where the money has gone. Ms McLeish said Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland’s call for an investigation was “more than warranted”, with both MPs seeking answers over the recovery from the January 2026 bushfires. “We have both been seeking answers on these and so many other matters since the fires, working with locals, pushing for a faster clean-up and rebuild, and asking why local contractors who know the area and are ready to work are being overlooked,” Ms McLeish said. “Annabelle and I have communities on both sides of these fires. “As part of the Coalition we work as a team, we compare notes and, when something isn’t right, we keep pushing until we get answers. “This is more than $400 million of taxpayers’ money and our communities deserve to know where it has gone and what’s actually made it onto the ground.” Ms Cleeland wrote to Victorian Auditor-General Andrew Greaves on 30 September seeking an “urgent” Victorian Auditor-General’s Office performance audit into how more than $400 million in state and Commonwealth funding for the January fires had been spent. “Nine months on, fire-affected communities across Victoria are still waiting for the recovery this funding was meant to deliver,” she wrote. The Victorian Auditor-General will assess the concerns and determine whether an investigation is warranted. Minister for Emergency Services Paul Edbrooke was contacted for comment regarding the referral. “We’ve been on the ground since day one delivering a wide range of supports to bushfire-affected communities including recovery hubs, financial assistance, clean-up, accommodation, legal, case management, and mental health services,” Mr Edbrooke said. “Help remains available and anyone in need should call the Recovery Hotline on 1800 560 760. “We’ll keep listening to communities and looking at what more we can do to help people recover and rebuild.” Mr Edbrooke also criticised the Opposition, saying: “The Liberal-One Nation Coalition needs to explain how its plan to axe 31,000 frontline jobs won’t gut our fire agencies or take recovery workers off the ground when Victorians need them most.” In her letter, Ms Cleeland raised a series of concerns she said warranted investigation, including the delivery of mental health services, temporary housing, the clean-up program, community grants and infrastructure rebuilding. She claimed there had been no on-the-ground mental health support in Murrindindi Shire for eight months after the fires and questioned the delivery of temporary accommodation after more than $100 million was allocated. “Temporary housing: more than $100 million allocated, yet only two modular homes and three caravans delivered in Strathbogie Shire,” she wrote. Ms Cleeland also described the clean-up program as “the most dysfunctional on record”, saying it remained incomplete almost nine months after the fires and was delaying rebuilding. She questioned the eligibility requirements for community grants and claimed some funded programs did not cover the fire footprint. The letter also raised concerns about the traceability of Commonwealth and state funding distributed across Victorian Treasury, Emergency Management Victoria, the Department of Justice and Community Safety and the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing. Ms Cleeland said more than 55 bridges, including Fawcett Bridge, as well as recreation reserves and other community assets remained lost without a recovery timeline. She also said some people whose homes were destroyed remained homeless or were couch surfing, while facing delays with permits and rebuilding. “Given more than $400 million has been committed, Victorians are entitled to full traceability,” she wrote. “How much has been disbursed, to which programs and providers, and what has actually reached fire-affected communities. “I ask VAGO to investigate this as a matter of urgency, given the ongoing hardship on the ground and the public interest in accounting for this spend.”