The Shadow Minister for Northern Australia wants to know why so little money is being spent on a vital bushfire monitoring service, why a quarter of it is being spent on admin - and how the Federal Government plans to deal with the service's ageing NASA satellite.  

Susan McDonald says the North Australia and Rangelands Fire Information - or NAFI - provides critical mapping and detection that can prevent a manageable fire from turning into a catastrope.

Rural reporter Gabrielle Hodson caught up with the Townsville-based senator, who's questioning the Federal Government's priorities.