Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, , 1:56:43 to 1:59:30
Discussion on the funding for the NAFI service and the $350,000 administrative cost charged by the Business Grants Hub to manage the grant agreement.
Topics: Grants administration, Forestry
Speakers: Speaker 12, Senator Susan McDonald, Speaker 11, Unknown Speaker
Talk is cheap, Minister. It'll be whether there's boots on the ground. My question now is about the Northern Australia uh fire uh the NAFI app, North Australia and Rangelands Fire Information Service. What funding has the Commonwealth committed to NAFI for 2526 and each subsequent financial year?
Thank you, Senator. I'll pass um that question on to Queen Amendet, the Assistant Coordinator General. Um but just to summarise that we we do think that NAPI is a very important database that obviously provides that information about current fires, um history, um mapping of fires, burnt areas, and really um really assists with that you know indigenous fire rangers and land management owners in managing fires into the future. So very important database in terms of the work that they do in that part of the world.
Thanks, Senator. So in um the 2526 Mayfo, uh the Australian government provided 1.48 million to um NAFI over over two years, and in addition to that, 0.35 million to the business grants hub in the industry portfolio to manage the grant on our behalf. Um that funding is through to 30 June uh next year. At this point, it's a matter for government senator.
Right. Um is that funding secured under a formal agreement with Charles Darwin University?
That's correct, yes.
And so that was 238,000 that you pay to the grants hub to administer that funding?
They it's point.35. And that's over the two years, Senator.
So that's $350,000 over two years is paid to the grants hub to administer that.
That's correct.
What would you expect the grants hub to do for $350,000?
So um, Senator, uh we work with the Business Grants Hub because we don't have a grants management capability in in NEMA. Um Business Grants Hub establishes a new grant, there's a there's a fair bit of cost associated with grant. That's correct.
Photocopier maybe send an email.
Not not quite, Senator, and and detailed questions on what Business Grants Hub does should be directed to to them directly. But they um setting up a new grant does take a bit more time than just um you know creating new grant.
This is a grant that's been running for how long has NAFI been funded for?