Hoard

As flooded Australians sort through their devastated lives, disaster relief funds gain interest safely tucked away in government coffers.

For his work as coordinator-general, Stone gets a very handy $591,904 a year, part of the approximately $1.5 million spent on executive remuneration. The National Recovery and Resilience Agency was set up in May last year with a budget of $900 million or so. “You’ve got people who want to live among the gum trees -- what do you think is going to happen?