The ultimatum follows a scathing investigation by the NSW Auditor-General into the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery program released on Thursday,which found a lack of transparency in funding projects,as well as Barilaro’s office making decisions outside its remit.
Labor leader Chris Minns said he will refer the bushfire grants program to ICAC unless John Barilaro explains them.Dominic Lorrimer
Former NSW Supreme Court judge Anthony Whealy,KC,backed the call for a corruption probe and said the Independent Commission Against Corruption need not wait for a referral.
“If it was a deliberate decision made for political gain it would easily fall within the definition of corrupt conduct in the ICAC legislation. Therefore,it should be referred and considered by ICAC,” he told theHerald.
“I say,prima facie,the auditor-general report reveals sufficient evidence to warrant an initial investigation by ICAC into the matter.”
Minns on Friday said the former deputy premier must explain why his office devised new rules to fast-track money to fire-ravaged areas,causing Labor electorates to miss out on emergency funding despite being devastated by the deadly Black Summer fires.
John Barilaro in August last year.Kate Geraghty
“If we don’t get answers today,and I mean in the next 24 hours,I do believe it needs to be referred to the ICAC to determine what happened here,” Minns told2GB radio host Ben Fordham on Friday morning.2GB is owned by Nine,the publisher of this masthead.
“I think it’s a basic fact of Australian life that,if you’re in a disaster zone,and you need help from your own government,it will come – it doesn’t matter which party you voted for at the last election.”
Following a meeting of national cabinet on Friday,Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said disaster relief should be distributed on the basis of need.
“Quite clearly,it shouldn’t be politicised ... we all have a responsibility to deliver where it’s needed,not to deliver politically,” he said.
He added that he believed the former federal Coalition government’s allocation of funding after the Northern Rivers floods had been politicised,saying,“And it shouldn’t be.”
Instead of following the guidelines,the office of the then-NSW Nationals leader devised its own rules to fast-track money to areas hit by the firestorm – a switch that meant 96 per cent of projects funded were in Coalition-held seats.
Barilaro’s office ruled there would be a $1 million threshold on projects without any documentation or records of conversations. That change ultimately meant 21 out of 22 projects above the $1 million threshold would be funded in Coalition seats. Any projects under that figure were excluded without explanation.
Minns said it was the first time he had heard allegations of communities suffering the impact of a natural disaster missing out on critical funding.
“I’ve never heard of this happening before;state or federal,Labor or Liberal-National,” he said.
“I couldn’t imagine a scenario where John Howard,during the Millennium drought,cherry-picked National and Liberal Party electorates to give financial help. I don’t think any leader in any party has ever done this before,and we need answers.”
Andrew Constance,a former NSW government minister and member for the South Coast seat of Bega,which was heavily impacted by the Black Summer bushfires,said victims deserved answers as soon as possible.
“Barra needs to explain it,” he said. “Fire affected communities deserve answers today. I understand it’s a politically charged environment with an election on,but everyone needs to keep in mind that those who have been directly affected don’t need a gob full of politics.”
Whealy,who is a former assistant commissioner of the ICAC,said the report revealed a serious state of affairs,causing electorates that suffered devastating loss and damage in the Black Summer bushfires to miss out on financial support.
“The ICAC will have to take into account other matters that may not be apparent from the report,but at prima facie,there is enough there to be considered,” he said.
“The findings may relate to Barilaro’s office more broadly,but he is responsible for it,so it does fall to him to explain.”
The Auditor-General’s report is likely to raise questions about the use of pork-barrelling,which has plagued the Coalition since the 2019 election when it emerged the government spent the majority of a $250 million program in Liberal and National-held seats.
Barilaro has yet to respond to a request for comment about the bushfire grants. TheHerald also approached him on Friday to comment on Minns’ ultimatum.
Minns said the former deputy premier must respond to the damning report,insisting that he give an explanation for its findings.
“It can’t just float away as if no one had ever written it or read it. And the people who have missed out on support like communities down in Bega or Tenterfield and the Blue Mountains need an explanation as to what happened as well,” he said.
Premier Dominic Perrottet,who was treasurer at the time of the grants program,has denied that his government pork-barrelled bushfire grants.
In Canberra on Friday,Perrottet said that he introduced changes to funding allocation rules when he became premier to ensure funding reached areas that needed it most.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories,analysis and insights..