Bushfire-hit Cobargo is coming back to life, but recovery funding is stuck in the pipeline

The Drum ABC News by Ruby Cornish 14 October 2020

Key Points:

• Cobargo community leaders say they've had little information on how to access government funding

• The National Bushfire Recovery Agency has so far only spent 2 per cent of its local recovery fund

• Locals have taken to funding and running some projects themselves

When Black Summer descended on the Bega Valley last New Year's Eve, residents of Cobargo and its surrounds headed for the village showground. It wasn't an official evacuation point, but it was the obvious place to go.

"It's pretty central for everybody. People coming in from Wandella and down from Dignams Creek. It's a gathering place and it always has been," said local resident Zena Armstrong.

People who congregated at the showground were quickly instructed to leave and head further afield to evacuation centres at Bermagui, Bega or Narooma. Click here to read the full article