Pork barrelling is 'what elections are for': John Barilaro defends bushfire grants

Blue Mountains mayor refutes NSW deputy premier's assertion that councils in non-Coalition seats were not eligible

The mayor of Blue Mountains council has contradicted the New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro's claim that it did not receive money from a $177m bushfire recovery fund because its application did not meet the grant's conditions, saying the projects were shovel ready".

Appearing before a parliamentary inquiry into the state government's alleged pork barrelling of council grants in NSW on Monday, Barilaro defended the government's allocation of bushfire relief funding to Coalition-held seats, saying councils in Labor-held seats including the Blue Mountains had not been eligible because they were not of sufficient size or readiness.