The Auditor-General responded on 16 June 2021 to correspondence from Senator Malcolm Roberts dated 19 May 2021, requesting that the Auditor-General conduct an investigation to examine the administration of Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements programs and funding. 

Auditor-General's response

16 June 2021

Senator Malcolm Roberts
Senator for Queensland

By email: senator.roberts@aph.gov.au

Dear Senator Roberts

I am writing in response to your correspondence of 19 May 2021 requesting that I conduct an investigation to examine the administration of Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements programs and funding.

I am considering including an audit of the joint Australian Government-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements 2018 in the context of the Australian National Audit Office’s (ANAO) 2021-22 Annual Audit Work Program (work program). The work program is designed to inform the Parliament, the public and government entities of planned audit coverage to commence in 2021-22 and will be published on the ANAO website in early July 2021.

To receive updates of the work program, please subscribe to the ANAO website, https://www.anao.gov.au/work-program/draft.

Yours sincerely

Grant Hehir

Correspondence from Senator Malcolm Roberts

Page 1 of the correspondence from Senator Malcolm Roberts. You can find a transcript of the correspondence on this page

Page 2 of the correspondence from Senator Malcolm Roberts. You can find a transcript of the correspondence on this page

Transcript of letter from Senator Malcolm Roberts

19 May 2021

Mr Grant Hehir
Auditor-General
Australian National Audit Office
38 Sydney Avenue
FORREST ACT 2603

Dear Mr Hehir

We last spoke at the Estimates hearings on 22 March this year. We were discussing the alleged misuse of NDRRA funding at the local government stage of the receipt of NDRRA funds.

Your previous 2015 Audit Report warned of identified problems with NDRRA funding and DRFA funding by some Councils and other entities.

I asked during Estimates for an update on the implementation of recommendations made to bring these problems to an end.

Your response was that there had been no other audit on those programs since the problems were identified in the 2015 Report.

In the light that you are currently putting together your future work programme, I wish to accept your offer made to me that day to consider giving priority to auditing those programmes again.

The Councils for which I have most concern include:

  • Carpentaria Shire Council
  • Central Highlands Regional Council
  • Charters Towers Regional Council
  • Tablelands Regional Council
  • Cook Shire Council

It is imperative that the audit you complete is not merely a paper audit on figures provided to you by the Councils being considered.

What is required is a full audit on the ground, involving interviews with key persons who have much information to share with the auditors.

One such person is Mr Jason Ward, who together with Ms Lyn O’Connor, will be of considerable assistance as they have access to relevant data that raises concerns. They can be contacted on [numbers removed].

I also wish to thank you for being open and honest with me as I seek a remedy to what I believe is a massive fraud on the taxpayers of Australia and particularly on the Commonwealth government who provide 75% of the disaster relief funding.

Please find attached a recent researched article by Mr Mark Solomons from the Brisbane Times for your further consideration (link below). It has a large amount of further detail as to how these monies are dealt with inappropriately. This is a potential billion-dollar issue.

Please confirm receipt of this letter and what actions you propose to take.

I appreciate the vast amount of work that you are required to complete but emphasise that this will be a significant audit requiring an appropriate level of priority to achieve a significant outcome for your office and the Australian people.

Yours sincerely

Malcolm Roberts
Senator for Queensland

Attachment
Copy of article from Brisbane Times, dated 19 March 2021 titled – Roads to ruin: Serious questions about billions spent on recovery in Queensland

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/roads-to-ruin-serious-questions-about-billions-spent-on-recovery-in-queensland-20210318-p57bzl.html