The Black Summer bushfires are etched in our collective memory. People died. Homes were lost. Millions of hectares of bushland were scorched and businesses have struggled to survive the massive hit to tourism, agricultural and retail income.
There have been countless stories of resilience during the difficult recovery as NSW rallied to support those whose livelihoods were destroyed and rebuild the economy.
The fires showed no respect for electoral boundaries. So revelations the government pushed 99 per cent of $177 million in grants designed to help bushfire-ravaged communities to Coalition seats is galling.
The Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund was never meant to be used for political gain. The party you support shouldn't matter.
Yet just 1 per cent of the millions fast-tracked in November last year went to Labor seats. This included the Hunter Valley Wine and Tourism Association located in Cessnock, which received a $585,000 grant.
The Stronger Communities Fund saga exposed a culture of government secrecy, shredding and cover-up.
The Premier last year admitted she was happy to use taxpayer-funded community grants to curry favour in Coalition-held seats, describing it as "common" and "not an illegal practice". I find it hard to fathom or forgive her government for taking the same approach to bushfire recovery.
The Premier is wrong.
Pork barrelling is not ethical or normal behaviour. It breaches basic rules of fairness and good governance.
The walls of flame that destroyed homes and local businesses didn't give a damn about politics. It is shocking that the government is distributing funding based on pure politics, not on the basis of need.
Public money should be used for meeting the needs of our citizens. It shouldn't be squandered to suit the Premier's political whim.
A NSW upper house inquiry will investigate the matter and call for submissions to examine the scandal.
The Premier must front this inquiry and explain why the overwhelming majority of this cash went to government electorates.
Perhaps more importantly, NSW needs to know why Gladys Berejiklian allowed something as important as bushfire recovery funds to become political.
The Premier has a duty to serve everyone in NSW, regardless of their political allegiances.
And never more so than after the worst bushfire season on record.
Jodi McKay is the NSW Labor leader
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