$350,000 TO ADMINISTER $1.48M BUSHFIRE MONITORING GRANT AS SATELLITE CONCERNS GROW
Shadow Minister for Northern Australia, Senator Susan McDonald has questioned the Federal Government’s priorities after Senate Estimates revealed $350,000 had been allocated to administer a $1.48 million bushfire monitoring grant, while uncertainty remains over the service’s future funding and satellite coverage.
The North Australia and Rangelands Fire Information (NAFI) service provides critical satellite-based fire detection and mapping information to pastoralists, Indigenous ranger groups and land managers across Northern Australia.
During Estimates questioning recently, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) officials confirmed the Commonwealth had committed $1.48 million over two years to NAFI, with another $350,000 allocated to the Business Grants Hub to administer that funding.
The administration allocation is equivalent to almost 24 per cent of the funding provided to the service itself.
“Every land manager in North Queensland has the NAFI app in their phone and it’s one of their most used tools in addition to the old BoM rainfall maps, yet we’re allocating $350,000 just to administer a $1.48 million grant,” she said.
“That’s $175,000 a year in administration funding for a service that has received Commonwealth support since 2013.
“I appreciate grants require proper oversight, but taxpayers are entitled to know exactly what they’re getting for that money, particularly when the service itself faces serious technological challenges.”
The hearing also examined concerns about NASA’s ageing Terra satellite, which has historically provided important morning fire detection information to NAFI.
Earlier this year, media reported that deteriorating satellite coverage could result in some fires going undetected for 10 to 12 hours.
NEMA officials acknowledged the concerns and confirmed discussions with other agencies, but could not provide a confirmed date for the restoration of reliable morning fire detection coverage.
Officials also confirmed NAFI’s Commonwealth funding runs only until June 2027, with further support subject to government decisions.
“A fire burning undetected for 10 or 12 hours in the Gulf, Cape York or western Queensland could be the difference between a manageable incident and a catastrophe,” Senator McDonald said.
“We’re talking about potentially losing homes, livestock, fencing and valuable grazing country.
“These are vast, remote areas where landholders rely on timely satellite information because firefighting resources can be hundreds of kilometres away.
“NAFI is an essential service, yet its future funding remains uncertain and there are unanswered questions about the reliability of its satellite coverage.
“The Government needs to explain what the $350,000 administration allocation is paying for, how it intends to address the satellite detection gaps and whether it will commit to maintaining this service beyond June 2027.”
ENDS