Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to recognise the tremendous efforts of Western Australia's career and volunteer firefighters who fought to save the many homes affected by the Perth Hills fires on 11 January this year. Fifty-six homes in the suburbs of Stoneville and Parkerville in the electorate of Pearce were destroyed on 11 January in a fire, the damage bill for which is ultimately expected to be significantly in excess of $20 million.

This bushfire started on a day when the temperature exceeded 40 degrees Celsius. Modelling since the incident has shown that 450 homes could have been lost in the fire that weekend but for the quick response of the firefighters and the use of the state's $12 million water-bombing fleet, a fleet that received a federal government contribution last year of $2.6 million. It is now very apparent that high-quality emergency service responses ensured losses were minimised.

About 200 volunteers attended the evacuation centre set up by the WA Department for Child Protection to provide support for those people who had been displaced by the fire. A number of partner agencies including the Shire of Mundaring, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Volunteering WA, the Rapid Relief Team and Youth Care assisted the department at the evacuation centre.

Unfortunately, bushfires like this are not uncommon in the Pearce electorate, but how the government, its agencies and the community have learned to prepare for them has dramatically improved in recent years. Following the release of the reports by Mick Keelty in 2011 into the Perth Hills bushfire and the Margaret River bushfires, the WA government invested $80 million to ensure all recommendations in both reports were acted upon. The stoicism of those affected by the fires should be praised, as should the outstanding efforts of firefighters and support agencies. (Time expired)