Vic fire authority gets funding boost. Or does it?
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has released a report saying the Country Fire Authority increased funding by $21.8 million in the last financial year. What is fraud?
The scam is that although direct government funding increased last year, it fell in the previous three years and is still significantly lower in real (inflation-adjusted) terms than in the 2020-21 financial year.
“The annual report puts it in black and white: the CFA today has more funding, more resources and is stronger as our government’s funding increases year on year,” Prime Minister Jacinta Allan said. However, the report confirmed that funding had fallen by $12.1 million over the previous four years.
reportThe report, which should have been published months ago, shows a deficit of $50 million last year.
With Victorian bushfires burning almost twice as much area as the ACT earlier this month, the long-delayed report could fuel widespread criticism of the Allan government’s fire preparedness in the run-up to state elections (scheduled for November).
Bushfires: Government statistics hiding our danger.
An Adelaide-based Media Studies graduate with an MA in Social Policy, I was an editor covering current affairs, local government and sport for a variety of publications before deciding to change careers in 2002.
