The town of Cobargo (pictured) was destroyed by a blaze, residents now face an uncertain future as they look to rebuild. Photo / Getty
The town of Cobargo (pictured) was destroyed by a blaze, residents now face an uncertain future as they look to rebuild. Photo / Getty
The director of the Red Cross has revealed that $11 million of the money donated to the Australian bush fire relief fund won't go to victims.
So far around $115m has been donated to the charity, but nearly 10 per cent of that will go into "administrative costs".
Director Noel Clements has been in the firing line following the revelations, with claims the charity has been stockpiling funds to dish out for future disasters.
Overnight, Clements explained where the money would go.
"So that's to basically do the work we are doing at the moment in processing the applications. It is to make sure we are meeting legal requirements, to make sure we are actually able to process applications as quickly as we can," he told The Today Show.
"This is for bush fires, this is not holding back for any other disasters.
"Keep in mind there are people who will need to rebuild and there are people who will need support for that, we want funds to be able to do that."
Residents look on as flames burn through bush on January 04, 2020 in Lake Tabourie, Australia. Photo / Getty
So far only 700 grants have been processed, leaving many more waiting to be cleared.
Volunteers are working hard to ensure the applications are done quickly and correctly, but many of the donations are from remote areas.
As of Wednesday, $30m of the Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund had been allocated to the victims, but many have said they haven't received any money.
NSW resident Robert Gorringe, who was hit by the bush fires, has been left out of the donations thus far and feels the Red Cross isn't sticking to its promises.
"They've made a lot of promises that they're going to this, that and the other, but I've received nothing," Gorringe told 7 News.
The Red Cross released a statement saying its bush fire relief funds will be drip fed out to ravaged communities over the next three years through "tailored recovery programmes".
A forest fire erupted in Goynuk, Bolu province, Turkey, prompting air and ground interventions. Two villages were evacuated as smoke drifted to Eskisehir.
Video / TR