Stewart McArthur (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The very dry conditions and the potential for drought in Victoria give rise to the possibility of another Ash Wednesday in the Otways and other national parks in Victoria. Ash Wednesday was in 1983. It is now almost 25 years later and there is a distinct possibility that we could have a major bushfire in Victoria. The Stretton Group, which I am a convenor of, have long been advocating for park authorities to carry out fuel reduction burns and to prepare for such an eventuality. They should be well prepared for a bushfire of Ash Wednesday proportions. Fuel reduction burning has not been undertaken over recent years and so there is a very strong possibility that the fuel, the hot weather and the dry conditions could bring about something like Ash Wednesday of 1983.

The Stretton Group are on the public record as saying that the Grampians could have a huge fire. In January of this year the Grampians burnt, and that was devastating to people at both Anakie and the Grampians. What I am saying is that there is the possibility that every quarter of a century another Ash Wednesday could occur in Victoria, given the seasonal conditions that are being currently experienced.