Steve Gibbons (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Foreign States Immunities Amendment Bill 2009 will permit the states and territories to conclude a vital new agreement with the United States for the exchange of fire suppression resources including firefighting personnel. As the next bushfire season approaches, we need no reminder that emergencies and disasters can have a devastating effect on the lives and welfare of Australians. Only seven months ago on Black Saturday we saw horrific bushfires in Victoria, and many members will recall the impact on the city of Bendigo in my electorate, where we had the worst disaster in our history. I spoke in the debate on the condolence motion for this incident and I mentioned the tragic death of one person and the total destruction of 59 homes in those Bendigo fires. I am now in a position to point out that, even more tragically, the police have now determined that fire was deliberately lit. How anybody could light a fire on a day like that under those sorts of conditions is probably beyond comprehension but that is the unfortunate conclusion the police have come to. To date there has been nobody charged with that offence.

The Victorian Department of Primary Industries has provided me with its assessment of farm losses in the fires on the same day at Reidsdale, about 15 kilometres north-east of Bendigo. I remind the House of some of those statistics: 85 rural properties around Reidsdale were affected and almost 6,500 hectares of land were damaged. Most of this was grazing pasture but of note was the impact on two commercial olive-growing operations at Barfold, where more than 300 hectares of olive trees were affected. Although there was significant livestock and wildlife loss, fortunately there was no loss of human life in that particular fire. A royal commission is now investigating the issues and concluding its investigation arising from the Victorian fires as we get ready for the forthcoming fire season. The Victorian government last month warned that this summer’s bushfire conditions could be even worse than those which led to the deadly fires last February. It has identified 52 towns that will be at particular risk this summer. In my electorate this includes the city of Bendigo and several nearby townships around Castlemaine.

Our volunteer and professional emergency services workers do a superb job of helping us to prepare for the fire season and helping fight bushfires when they do occur. During the Black Saturday fires in my electorate there were countless heroic efforts to save people and possessions. Many of our firefighters are volunteers who readily give up their time and spare time to protect our communities, and they work tirelessly when called out to a fire. It is no exaggeration to say that we could not survive without them.

But we simply do not have enough firefighters for the sort of extensive and long-lasting fires we experienced last February. For some years United States authorities have provided critical help to Victoria in the lead-up to, and during, the annual bushfire season. A cooperative exchange program allows personnel and equipment from one country to be deployed to the other country to provide vital operational assistance. This also allows Australian firefighters to share and develop specialist knowledge and skills by participating in training exercises and study tours. The similarity in conditions in Australia and United States means that both countries’ firefighters are able to fit straight into front-line roles at short notice.

This capability has been invaluable during long bushfires, when local resources get overstretched and exhausted. Over 170 United States firefighters have been deployed to Victoria since 2003, including 73 during the Black Saturday fires earlier this year. A new cooperation agreement is currently being negotiated that would apply across the whole of Australia. Victoria is leading the negotiations but, if they are successful, the new agreement will benefit all states and territories. However, the United States has been concerned for some time that Australian law currently provides no immunity from tort proceedings to its firefighters while they are engaged in bushfire assistance activities in Australia. The United States is understandably concerned about its firefighters becoming caught up in legal disputes in Australia, and it cannot finalise a new cooperation agreement without this immunity. Without the new arrangement in place, United States authorities will not be able to provide help to the states and territories in the upcoming bushfire season, potentially leaving our fire services dangerously exposed.

This bill will amend the Foreign States Immunities Act so that regulations may be made applying immunity from tort proceedings to a foreign state, including its personnel, where they assist the Commonwealth, a state or a territory to prepare for, prevent or manage domestic emergencies and disasters. The immunity would only apply to acts or omissions of foreign personnel in the course of their duties and would not apply in any criminal proceedings.

The agreement being negotiated provides for a reciprocal immunity to be granted to all Australia and its firefighters under United States law. This will ensure an equivalent level of protection for Australian firefighters when they are operating in the United States. The limited and appropriate protection in the bill will allow the United States to confidently deploy its firefighters in response to a request for help from Australia. The new bushfire exchange program with the United States will form an integral part of the fire management and response capacity of all Australian states and territories and will enhance the safety and security of all Australians. This bill is one way the Australian government can support the states and territories as they prepare for the coming fire season and I commend this bill to the House.

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