Labor still believes the government's highly-paid disaster recovery boss should have quit over controversial comments at the height of flood crisis, but has stopped short of committing to sacking him if Anthony Albanese wins next month's election.
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Opposition emergency management spokesman Murray Watt in March called for National Recovery and Resilience Agency boss Shane Stone to be sacked over comments which appeared to blame residents for the cost of rebuilding from devastating floods.
Senator Watt described Mr Stone, who is a former federal Liberal president and Country Liberal Chief Minister in the NT, as a "partisan operative" who spent his time promoting Prime Minister Scott Morrison rather than helping victims by using the government's $4.8 billion disaster mitigation fund.
"He should go," Senator Watt said at the time.
Asked on Tuesday if Mr Stone would be sacked by an Albanese government, Senator Watt said he hadn't thought about it as Labor needed to first win the election.
But Senator Watt did double down on his comments from March.
"We have called on Shane to resign," he said while campaigning alongside Mr Albanese in Brisbane.
"And he should have done that by now because of the disgraceful comments he made, blaming victims of floods for the circumstances they found themselves in when his own government has a fund that has now reached $4.8 million because they haven't built a single disaster mitigation project," Senator Watt said.
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The comments came after Mr Albanese promised to increase funding for Disaster Relief Australia to $38.1 million over the next three years, which will help bolster the volunteer ranks of the veterans-led organistion.
Mr Albanese met volunteers during a visit to Pine Rivers District RSL, in Peter Dutton's seat of Dickson, which was used as an operations centre during the Brisbane floods.
Senator Watt used the announcement to accuse Scott Morrison of ducking for cover when natural disasters strike.
Just hours after Labor's announcement, the Coalition matched the $38.1 million commitment, with the funding to be used to create a National Veteran Volunteer Service program in partnership with Disaster Relief Australia.
The funding will help the organisation add an extra 5200 volunteers to its ranks, the same number as under the Labor pledge.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
