A wildfire that tore across the outskirts of the West Australian capital of Perth over the weekend reportedly destroyed at least 41 homes.

One firefighter was injured and several people were treated for smoke inhalation. Two blazes... razed 16-hundred hectares of forestland to the north and southeast of Perth. Meanwhile, in the state of Victoria, flooding continued to hit as Cyclone Yasi caused a series of thunderstorms. The State Emergency Service, received about 250 calls over the weekend. In Canberra on Monday, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, announced the formation of a "reconstruction in-spectorate" that will be responsible for ensuring... VALUE for money in natural disaster reconstruction. The total sum of the fund is expected to reach 5-point-6 billion Australian dollars, or about 5-point-7 billion US.

Julia Gillard, Australian Prime Minister, said, "I believe as we rebuild from these large scale and widespread natural disasters, that's it's appropriate to have these mechanisms to ensure that every dollar is a dollar that is spent effectively, and that every dollar spent from taxpayers money goes to do work that is necessary to rebuild the nation."