Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to provide the coalition’s response to the Attorney-General’s statement on preparations for this coming bushfire season. As the summer season approaches, our attention is again turned to the grim reality that this is a time when natural disasters such as bushfires are more likely to occur. Fires burning in central Queensland, as mentioned by the Acting Prime Minister at the end of question time, as well as emerging fire fronts in New South Wales and Western Australia, demand from us as members and senators our continuing attention and support.

We should never forget the communities that were devastated by the worst natural disaster to ever touch this nation. We should never forget the 173 people who died in the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria on 7 February this year. As with every crisis, particularly natural disasters, the important thing is that we learn from what has happened and make sure that we do everything we can to prevent it from happening again. Our response at both state and federal level must be around fuel reduction, preparedness and our emergency responses.

Whilst emergency management including bushfire mitigation and preparedness activities such as fuel reduction and the issuing of emergency warnings is primarily the responsibility of state and territory governments, the coalition believes it is important that the Commonwealth remains committed to supporting communities to build their disaster resilience.

On 17 August we heard from the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission interim report that many mistakes were made and more could be done to prepare Victoria for a natural disaster of this magnitude. I would like to take this opportunity once again to commend Commissioner Teague and his fellow commissioners on their important work over the last eight months.

The Attorney-General mentioned the outstanding contribution and the research of the member for McEwen. We also acknowledge the member for McEwen’s efforts as her electorate suffered the most on Black Saturday. The member for McEwen has worked extremely hard in these last months identifying and investigating methods and technologies to make our communities safer. Among these technologies is FireWatch, which uses technology developed by the German Aerospace Research Institute for NASA’s Mars Pathfinder mission. The member for McEwen, I understand, travelled to Germany earlier this year to see first-hand the digital sensing technology in operation and, on her return, strongly advocated an Australian trial this summer.

Comprehensive fuel reduction programs have been another area of vital research by the member for McEwen. A visit to the Sintra region of Portugal, an area that experienced fires of similar devastation in 2003 and 2007, has reinforced in the member for McEwen’s mind the importance of fuel reduction programs, not just burn-offs but thinning vegetation and clearing roadsides in order to limit fire intensity. This is a critical message. The great point about the Sintra model put in place following their fires is that the region forms a World Heritage listed area. This is an important lesson—that is, that environmental outcomes and the maintenance of biodiversity in the bush, and fuel reduction, need not be mutually exclusive.

I would also like to acknowledge the member for La Trobe, who has put forward recommendations for action in his electorate to prepare for the upcoming bushfire season. The member for La Trobe recommended a major fuel reduction campaign in the Dandenong Ranges as a top priority. Thus far, there has been very little action from the state Victorian Labor government on this front. It is well known that the Dandenong Ranges is a very high fire threat area, one of the most fire prone in the world.

The member for La Trobe tells me that he has also put forward a recommendation for fire refuges in schools. Many of the schools in his area are steeling themselves for the coming fire season and are really anxious. The schools in the electorate of La Trobe have only recently been assessed as needing either major or minor upgrades to their shelters. Some which have been assessed as needing major upgrades will receive minor upgrades or nothing at all. I have been informed that many of the school principals in the member for La Trobe’s electorate are desperate for more assistance. The only major change at this point in time is that some trees have been removed from schoolyards.

The coalition urges the Australian government to work with its state counterparts to protect communities and take the actions that state governments need to take at their level for safety during the coming fire season. We do support the measures that the Attorney-General has put forward and we thank the Australian government for their ongoing engagement with this issue. We will support their continuing development.

However, these measures on their own, no matter how good they are, can be overwhelmed by inaction by states and excessive fuel loads on the ground. In Victoria the call is for fuel reduction burning at the higher levels of the 1970s and 1980s. For example, in 1980-81, 477,000 hectares of Victorian public forest was fuel reduced. This stands in stark contrast to the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s current burn target of 130,000 hectares a year—a target that is only occasionally achieved. Given that Victoria has over eight million hectares of forest, I fear this represents only a modest commitment to preventative bushfire management.

We note with concern the statement by the Attorney-General that there is ‘above normal fire potential across much of southern Australia’. That is something that worries us all. The Attorney said:

… climate change will increase the intensity and geographic extent of many extreme weather events. Obviously, some impacts from climate change are unavoidable.

Whilst I do not disagree with this statement, we must never use the present or future danger of climate change as a reason not to do everything possible at all levels of government to reduce the risk of fire. The most fundamental responsibility for any government is the protection of its citizens. All state governments and authorities must look carefully at the findings of the royal commission and learn from the mistakes as we approach this summer’s fire season. The coalition is committed to the continual improvement of the measures outlined by the Attorney in terms of improved capability and emergency response and the provision of grants through the states and territories. We pledge our full support to whatever is required at Commonwealth level to effectively build individual and community resilience to bushfire disasters.

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