Alleged corruption in rural Victoria disaster relief – families who lost everything are being ignored while politically connected insiders control the funds \[Long but important\]

I need to get this in front of as many eyes as possible because local media won’t touch it. What’s happening in rural Victoria right now is a textbook case of conflicts of interest undermining disaster relief for real people who desperately need it.

The web of relationships you need to understand first:

\- Victorian MP Annabelle Cleeland holds the seat of Euroa and is also the National Party Secretary. Her own property was damaged in the Longwood fires earlier this year (her house was saved). Since then, she has been living with her best friend, Laura Jeffery.

\- Laura’s husband is Scott Jeffery — the sitting Mayor of Strathbogie Shire.

\- Scott Jeffery’s brother is Ned Jeffery — a sitting Councillor on Mitchell Shire, which sits immediately to the south of Strathbogie.

Now here’s where it gets ugly.

The disaster relief problem:

Laura Jeffery — the MP’s best friend and the Mayor’s wife — runs the disaster relief charity distributing funds to fire-affected communities.

https://strathbogiedisasterrelief.com

That charity’s scope has since been extended to cover Mitchell Shire, the council where her brother-in-law sits as a councillor.

Meanwhile, Murrindindi Shire — which if you look at the fire maps was far more severely impacted than Mitchell Shire — is being left out.

(Pics attached).

Real people are being screwed over:

Landholders in the Ruffy/Terip area, which straddles the Strathbogie/Murrindindi border, were explicitly promised they would be eligible for assistance.

One of these residents even organised a fundraising event for the Strathbogie fund, despite living within literal walking distance of the council boundary. Tens of thousands of dollars were raised on the basis of these assurances.

Two months on? Nothing. Their calls aren’t being returned. The promises made to them have evaporated.

And those who do technically fall within the “eligible” zones aren’t faring much better — instead of receiving help, they’re getting repeated calls from metropolitan numbers in what is clearly a call centre setup, asking them to “confirm their details.” Weeks and months of delays, with nothing materialising.

Let’s be clear about what this looks like:

∙	A sitting MP is living in the home of the local Mayor while that Mayor’s wife controls disaster relief funds

∙	Those funds have been extended to cover the council where the Mayor’s own brother sits as an elected member

∙	Areas that suffered worse fire damage have been deemed ineligible, despite explicit assurances to the contrary

∙	Community members who fundraised in good faith are getting nothing

∙	Eligible victims are being run through call centre verification loops instead of receiving aid

Every single one of these relationships would, on its own, warrant scrutiny. Together, they paint a picture of disaster relief money being directed through a tight network of politically connected individuals while genuinely devastated communities are shut out.

Local media won’t report on this. They depend on government advertising revenue and aren’t going to bite the hand that feeds them.

The people affected by these fires deserve better. Please share this and help get some sunlight on it.

I am posting this on behalf of affected community members who have exhausted every other avenue.

Nats Bushfire Nepotism