Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee, , 8:05:33 to 8:10:41
A detailed breakdown of spent and uncommitted funds for H5 preparedness is provided, focusing on the $43.9 million allocated to the agriculture portfolio and the status of communications campaigns.
Topics: Biosecurity, Government spending
Speakers: Dr Beth Cookson, Justine Saunders, Senator Paul Scarr, Miss Victoria Anderson, Unknown Speaker
>> Okay. Do you have any up-to-date figures with respect to how much of each of those buckets has been drawn down and how much is left?
>> Um I can if you just give me a few moments, Senator, and I might come back >> do you have another question, Cinder, while I'm getting that information.
>> Okay,
>> you can keep going.
>> Well, just whilst you're looking, if I can. >> Uh, because my understanding is that the preparedness funding was nil uh prior to uh the current outbreak. Is that correct? There wasn't any preparedness funding left.
>> No, that's not accurate. >> No. >> Okay. >> No, that's right. Yeah, if you've got the facts there. Thanks, Beth.
>> Beth Hooken, Australian Chief Veterinary Officer. Um, so um um Miss Saunders referenced the $113 million that was provided um since 2024 to support preparedness. Yeah. um that was um made up of um of um funding that went to different portfolio agencies. We worked very closely through that preparedness phase with agriculture, environment and health. >> Um so of that there was $43.9 million for this portfolio. There was $47.1 million for environment um and $22.1 million for health. Um so I can speak to the agriculture um components of that
>> which is the 43.9
>> which is the yeah the 43.9. Um so of the 43.9 million um the um unspent funding for this financial year equated to $10.316 million. Um and that was made up of um funding for a national communications campaign um that has since been um activated. Um and there's an additional just over $2 million for investments in H5 um biocurity capability, scientific and diagnostic capability and mission critical supplies. Um they were movement of funds from the previous um financial
>> Okay. So, have those funds now been >> That 43.9 million, has that now been exhausted?
>> Um, of the 10.316 million that came into this financial year, >> um, there is a little bit um, left uncommitted. So, the bulk of the national communications campaign funding has now been committed. um we've still got some of the $2 million left that we are making targeted investments uh with as needed to continue some of those readiness activities. One example of that um is for example procurement of additional vaccines if we need those to [clears throat] um protect our priority native species.
>> Okay. All right. So that deals with that 43.9 amount. Um, Miss Saunders, the other amounts.
>> Well, I can go through this
>> that you refer to how much is left. I'm I'm basically after how much hasn't been
>> and I'd have to do the maths because I've got every every project that's been committed and how much has been spent. >> Okay. Well, if you want to run through them each one by one.
>> So, we can I've got I've got lots of >> Notice [laughter] No, I was saying we had lots of mathematicians here. So we should have probably >> about nine different figures. >> Yeah.
>> No, it sounds like the secretary is better informed than I am in this different document today. [screaming] This is this is quite risky. [laughter]
>> Um so uh the of the $37 million for agriculture announced in uh well that's October 2024. So I think that's the money that uh Dr. Cookson's largely accounted for. Um, okay. I'm not being very helpful because this is the historical amounts. So whether or not we've got the expenditure against the the most recent um deed funding.
>> Yeah. So that was so that was the preparedness funding that I just spoke
to. >> So we've walked through that.
>> Most of it committed.
>> It was dangerous. Sorry. I'll step back now.
>> it was very useful secretary. Thank you.
Senator what I can say is there is residual funding available but the funding as you said in relation to preparedness we've done that work >> so it's not we we don't need additional money in the bank
understood
>> and so of course we have um okay >> we have vehicles available to us >> if we see an escalation in the response that requires additional funding we have mechanisms through the joint funding arrangements through the EADRA that we can access um and there is money in the bank for that um and And then of course we have the money under the national management agreement also cost shared arrangements and if additional funding is required to respond to an increase in risk we would negotiate with states and territories. So we'll seek funding as we need it.