What a piece of work.
Shallow Mal.
So Malcolm has been on the BBC channellingAlGore?
— Jill❌ (@1Swinging_Voter) January 22, 2020
Hang on? WHAT about this?
Remember when he was this Malcolm?
What a charlatan that bloke is. pic.twitter.com/HyOoXCOk5t
Thanks to Jill Jacks for the video clip and Gideon Rozner for the transcript.
Red Cross has consistently said the funds will be used for Disaster Relief and Recovery, with the focus on the current bushfire crisis.
Our operators are standing by.........
Information to be attributed to Noel Clement, Director Australian Programs, Australian Red Cross
The Australian Red Cross has received an unprecedented level of support. In total, people have donated $95 million and this continues to rise.
All funds raised since July 2019 will go to our Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund. Currently, all our efforts and resources are going to the unprecedented bushfires emergency we are facing.
At this stage, we have committed $30 million to the direct response phase so people’s immediate needs are being met. This being done by way of $10,000 emergency grants for those whose homes have been destroyed. As of yesterday, we’d received 2,051 applications, paid 559 grants and have 1,492 open cases. $20,000 bereavement payments are also available to the next of kin of someone who is bereaved.
We will be allocating funds towards the all-important recovery work, so when the world’s attention turns away and the story moves on locals don’t feel left behind. We have committed to staying in these communities, working with them once their needs become clearer. We know from our long experience in disasters that receovery takes time and effort and it’s prudent to budget for it. This money is all being spent in Australia. It is also prudent to plan for the inevitable disasters to come, so our Disaster Relief and Recover Fund remains in place to scale up and respond when the cyclones and floods hit.
More than 2,000 Australian Red Cross staff and volunteers are providing around the clock support to communities impacted by the bushfires. The organisation is applying lessons learnt from other emergency work in Australia and across the globe, including the 2009 Victorian bushfires and 2018 Townsville floods.
This is best practice in emergency response. The recovery will continue for years and it’s important to remember this, especially as the bushfires are continuing to burn and the full extent of the needs is yet to emerge.
We understand it may be difficult for people in the fire-affected communities to get information. We have trained volunteers in the field to assist. For those who have internet or a phone please reach out at redcross.org.au/grants or 1800 727 077. We are making the process as simple and as easy to access as it can be. There are some challenges. First, we have to check every application and for many people the documents they need may have been destroyed in the fires. We are trying to make it as easy as possible for these people to access funds.
Red Cross has consistently said the funds will be used for Disaster Relief and Recovery, with the focus on the current bushfire crisis. We have long experience in transparently managing these donations and distribution. We work closely with the Public Fundraising Regulatory Associations, the Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission and the Fundraising Institute Australia. These national organisations have strict standards and codes of conduct which, as a member of these organisations, we are committed to upholding. We are also bound by Australian Taxation Law governing fundraising.
Red Cross works in collaboration with other agencies including governments, emergency services, and the not-for-profit sector. We focus on the humanitarian response of a disaster alongside other agencies working in their specialties.
#YourADF would like to thank all our international partners who have contributed their time, capability and personnel on #OpBushfireAssist 🇳🇿🇸🇬🇯🇵🇫🇯🇵🇬 From the ground to the air, Australia says thank you! @NZDefenceForce @mindefsg @ModJapan_en @JASDF_PAO @RFMF_Media #PNGDF pic.twitter.com/IbEt248fAV
— Defence Australia (@DeptDefence) January 22, 2020
No one I know donated money for the Red Cross to keep in its bank accounts.
The Red Cross has been accused of failing to support the needs of families affected by bushfires, with some claiming they have been waiting months for help.
Generous Australians donated more than $95 million to the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund but The Daily Telegraph can reveal less than a third of the money has been committed to fire victims.
There are also no guarantees that the remaining funds donated will be handed out this summer.
“Australians have generously donated more than $95 million dollars to Red Cross’ Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund,” a spokeswoman from the charity said.
“Right now we’ve committed $30 million to help people meet their immediate needs.
“This includes initial $10,000 emergency grants for everyone across Australia whose homes have been destroyed in bushfires since July 2019.
“Outside of the $30 million already committed to immediate financial relief, the funds will also go to bereavements grants of $20K each, as well as an initial three-year recovery program.”
The spokeswoman said some of the funds would be saved to spend towards disasters in the future to “continue to ensure our emergency teams are resourced and ready for wherever they’re needed”.
The Daily Telegraph can confirm just over 500 cash assistance grants have been approved by the charity since January 6.
The total number of homes destroyed has exceeded 2000.
Nambucca mayor Rhonda Hoban has slammed the lack of assistance provided to people in her region.
“The money may have been committed but it’s not on the ground,” Ms Hoban said.
“The real fire damage occurred on November 8 so it’s been more than two months and we have no running water, no toilets.
“One lady told me this morning that she’d give anything to just clean her teeth.”
Ms Hoban said without any internet reception it was difficult for locals to access these grants. She also warned of growing mental health issues in the community.
“Despite all the media releases saying mental health assistance is available to people who are suffering they don’t have telephone access — we have had reports of three attempted suicides,” she said.
“People suffering these issues aren’t going to go into town and find a phone to call the mental health helpline.”
Australian Charities and Not For Profit Commission boss Gary Johns said the country was in phase two of recovery and the charities were in discussions about how to spend the money collected.
“It does seem strange that people have had to wait for basics from last October,” he said.
Police in Canberra will no longer issue fines to riders not wearing a helmet for religious reasons.
The new road safety regulations which quietly came into effect in December don't apply to other riders, who can be fined up to $344 if they're caught riding a bicycle or personal mobility device without a helmet.
ACT road minister Shane Rattenbury spruiked the new laws as particularly important to Sikhs, whose headwear made it difficult to wear a helmet.
'Canberra is a community where everyone should feel included. The territory supports individuals practising their religion or belief and this regulation ensures that sections of the community are not excluded from active forms of transport,' the minister said in a statement on Wednesday.
'The change responds to an issue raised by the community, identifying this as a barrier to cycling. As an example, it is important to Sikh members of our community to wear religious headwear, and this can mean they can't wear a bicycle helmet.
Sikhs are exempt from wearing helmets while riding in South Australia, while other cyclists religious groups who wear headdresses are also exempt in Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria.
New South Wales is now the only state without an exemption to its helmet laws, despite repeated lobbying attempts from impacted religious groups.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7914629/New-helmet-laws-Australias-Sikhs-Muslims.html?fbclid=IwAR198NSqlFHGxZeUf7NzfACAdpK1NTXzsONW5QFlsgUIt-RMCfnNNYw4XSo
Here's the original - classic Kekovich!
Knockabout Aussie won't be goaded into buying into climate frenzy!
“Trump is the leading climate denier in the world.”
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) January 21, 2020
Malcolm Turnbull, former Australian prime minister, says the conversation around global warming has turned into an ideological issue when it’s just a question of physics @TurnbullMalcolm | #Newsnight pic.twitter.com/38HBTrhufh
"The reality is that half of your trade goes to the EU. Britain’s trade with Australia is a very small percentage.”
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) January 21, 2020
Former Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull says a trade deal with the UK is “not a substitute for the EU”#Newsnight | @TurnbullMalcolm pic.twitter.com/5xjUKW3bj7
The worst times of the bushfires disaster have brought out the best in people. But we need to make sure no one's slipping through the cracks pic.twitter.com/5h5LHuSm1b
— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) January 22, 2020