Member for Northern Victoria Gaelle Broad says northern Victorian communities are still struggling after the January bushfires.
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Fire-affected communities across Northern Victoria are still struggling months after the summer bushfires, with Nationals MP Gaelle Broad accusing the state government of failing to deliver meaningful support.
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Speaking in parliament, Ms Broad painted a grim picture of communities left to fend for themselves amid bureaucratic delays and funding shortfalls.
"The fires are no longer in the media headlines, but the communities are still suffering," she said.
The state member for Northern Victoria said she had heard directly from frustrated residents and volunteers across the region.
CFA volunteers described relying on ageing equipment, being denied backup strike teams and air support, and watching their own homes burn from the back of a truck.
On the ground, the stories are equally distressing.
An elderly couple near Alexandria was still buying bottled water more than 100 days after the fires.
The Fawcett community has been calling for star pickets to replace destroyed fencing.
Residents seeking mental health support have been told to wait, or that nothing is available at all.
Ms Broad described communities left to fend for themselves in the bushfire aftermath.
Ms Broad said the patchwork of federal and state funding arrangements was leaving people behind, with individuals forced to navigate multiple agencies just to access basic assistance.
“Facing a pile of paperwork when you have experienced such loss simply adds to the trauma,” she said.
Murrindindi and Strathbogie shires, among the hardest hit, are facing particular pressure due to what Ms Broad described as inequitable funding arrangements, with local councils expected to carry the load without adequate resources.
Ms Broad recently pushed to extend the waiver on tip fees for bushfire victims beyond the May 12 deadline, securing an extension to June 30, though she says it still isn't long enough.
“I will continue to fight for those affected to get the support they need,” she said.
