State Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland has renewed her calls for rate relief for residents affected by January's bushfires, warning the Victorian Government's latest round of recovery grants looks like a rushed, election-timed response to underspend in programs already announced.

The grants, worth up to $75,000 for community groups and not-for-profit organisations, close for applications on August 31.

Ms Cleeland said the strict eligibility criteria and timing of the deadline pointed to a program built around underspend and the election cycle, rather than the actual needs of the community.

"That is not recovery planning. That is politics," she said.

Ms Cleeland said more than 15 per cent of ratepayers across Strathbogie Shire were bushfire-impacted, and without genuine relief many faced years of rate bills on properties they were still rebuilding.

Three years of rate relief and the waiving of the Emergency Services Tax for those properties is estimated to cost less than $6 million over three years, a precedent she said was set after previous disasters in Towong and East Gippsland.

"The treasurer stood in the Seymour recovery centre and told affected residents rate relief would be delivered. Months on, we are still waiting," Ms Cleeland said.

"Strathbogie Shire can currently only offer deferrals, because of rate capping. A deferral is not relief, it is debt."

The renewed push follows a letter Ms Cleeland wrote to the prime minister and governor-general this week, describing Victoria's bushfire recovery as one of the most dysfunctional responses the state has seen.

Ms Cleeland’s letter set out 15 areas of neglect she said had paralysed the recovery, including a clean-up program that took four months to begin and modular homes that sat in storage for months.

Meanwhile, fire-affected families will soon have the chance to begin restoring their properties, with Benalla business Speciality Trees donating more than 1000 trees to communities impacted by the January fires.

"Recovery isn't just about rebuilding homes. It's about restoring the places people love and creating hope for the future," Ms Cleeland said.

"This is regional Victoria at its very best. When government support has often been slow or lacking, it's local businesses and community members who continue to step forward and make a real difference."

Fire-affected residents can collect one bundle of five trees, with a range of varieties suitable for restoring fire-affected properties.

The event is taking place over the weekend of August 14, 15 and 16, at 1317 Mansfield Rd, Benalla, from 8am to 4pm or while allocations last.

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Wednesday, 29th January 2031

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