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Barber seeks NSW RFS funding rule change

AAP
Celeste Barber raised $51.3m for bushfire victims.
Camera IconCeleste Barber raised $51.3m for bushfire victims.

Comedian Celeste Barber says the millions of dollars she raised for Australian bushfire relief and fire-hit communities should have been funnelled to its intended targets rather than solely to the NSW Rural Fire Service as listed in her online appeal.

The NSW Supreme Court in May ruled the $51.3 million raised by Barber through a Facebook charity drive - with the NSW RFS as her nominated beneficiary - could not be redirected to interstate charities or bushfire-affected communities.

This was Barber's original intention and the presumed motivation of her donors.

However, the money could be used to support injured firefighters and the families of those who lost their lives while fighting blazes over NSW's unprecedented fire season in 2019-20.

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A change to the laws surrounding the RFS Trust Deed is being explored in the NSW upper house on Thursday and Barber provided an online submission to the committee.

She supported a change to the funding rules.

"My concern is that if it is not possible to help these people have their money allocated to where they want it to go in this unprecedented instance that this may be the last we see of such generosity on such an international scale," Barber said.

Barber in her submission said her initial goal for the fundraising drive was $30,000 which rapidly grew to $10 million due to her online following and kept rising.

She said she was subsequently advised to open other fundraising pages so money could go to groups other than the NSW RFS, but did not do so.

"I didn't know what to do as I feared that if I closed this particular fundraiser down and started another one the momentum might have been lost," Barber said.

Some $20 million of the $51 million has already been spent by the NSW RFS.

Then-acting RFS commissioner Rob Rogers in May said he recognised the $51.3 million was not intended solely for his organisation, but the money would be prudently spent.

Barber would be kept in the loop on any spending programs, he said.

The RFS sought feedback from members regarding how the funds should be spent and the cash will be used to purchase firefighting equipment including respiratory systems, helmets and chainsaws and also improve "network connectivity" in vehicles and stations.

The NSW upper house committee will begin on Thursday examining the bill, which was put forward in June by Greens MP David Shoebridge.

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