Thread by @Jarrapin

A THREAD
Budgets and Bushfires: has government cost-cutting hindered firefighting? @MichaelWestBiz does some much-needed digging. The truth will shock. Bad enough to be saddled with a climate-denying gov but cost-cutting is the main reason why this inferno is now out of control

“How come we only had 4 trucks to defend our town?” pleaded distressed resident of Cobargo to Prime Minister Scott Morrison. “I’m not going to shake your hand until you give the RFS more funding,” another woman from Cobargo, Zoey, told the PM. Little did they know the truth.

Michael West found that spending on equipment dipped significantly in the years leading up to this terrible summer, and also that spending on “fire mitigation work” had fallen significantly.

In the years 2016 to 2018, the RFS had spent nowhere near its budget. It kept millions in hand, possibly to deliver cost savings to the NSW Government.

Actual spending on fire trucks had fallen too; less was spent on tankers, pumpers, command vehicles and bulk water carriers.

On the South Coast, where Cobargo once stood, the number of tankers fell over the past five years from 1,384 to 1,176, the number of pumpers from 43 to 12 and the number of personnel transport and command vehicles from 511 to 176.

Yet there was money in hand, money not spent, many millions of dollars which presumably was saved by the Government of NSW. The RFS financials are the domain of the government in NSW, not the Federal Government.

The money trail is complicated but analysis of the RFS accounts by Michael West Media supports the view that not enough money has been spent to address dangerously rising fuel levels on the ground, rising population and climate change.

The table above, RFS: well under budget, shows the agency came in $66 million under its budget in the three years from 2016 to 2018. This is unusual for a government department.

Questions were put to the Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott.

There has been no response yet. (Like Scott Morrison) Elliott attracted heavy criticism for being on holiday in France and the UK while NSW burned.

The chart also shows the RFS sitting on a giant cash pile of almost $110 million.

It had budgeted for a cash balance of $53 million but it came in at $163 million. Zoey from Cobargo said she would not shake Scott Morrison’s hand until he gave more money to the RFS. Little did she know that the RFS had a lot of money at its disposal which it did not spend.

There's no escaping the fact that less has been spent on firefighting equipment, despite rising risks, while RFS appear to have had plenty of cash.

Meanwhile the Morrison gov has been forced to dredge up $2 billion but it will be dragged out over 2 years, to protect surplus.

Morrison has refused to find the money for even one water-bombing helicopter. @naomirwolf reports that water tanker airplanes standing by at US Forest Service to help Australia's wildfires but -- Australia has not asked for them.

Read Westy's full report here. What is it about Coalition governments withholding our money when it's our lives at risk plus millions of wildlife & livestock? How will these climate denying incompetents save us from more climate-driven catastrophes?

michaelwest.com.au/budgets-and-bu…

#AustraliaFires, #AustraliaOnFire, #ScottyFromMarketing, #auspol, #BushFireCrisisAustralia, #climatechange, #climatedeniers, #AustraliaBurns, #kakistocracy (look it up!), #endcoal, #endofcoal, #NoKyotoCredits, #AngusTaylor

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