Angus Taylor Hume, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition
3:23 pm
Mr Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.
Milton Dick Speaker
Does the Leader of the Opposition claim to have been misrepresented?
Angus Taylor Hume, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition
Yes, most egregiously, Mr Speaker.
Angus Taylor Hume, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition
During question time, the member for Eden-Monaro said that I impugned RFS firefighters. I did no such thing and never would. I was referring to the failures of national park management in the lead-up to the devastating 2003 fires in the Snowy Mountains. This is what I said in Kiandra, in the heart of the Snowy Mountains:
Year by year by year, the National Parks decided they didn't want people here. … They thought the only knowledge or experience that mattered was in an office … or in a bureaucracy.
… In January of 2003, the dry storms rolled through … and fire started and the National Parks said, 'We're not going to put them out' …
So I did not blame firefighters; I blamed the mismanagement of the National Parks bureaucracy. What I said was based on a Commonwealth report published in 2003 called A nation charred that showed evidence that the National Parks's mismanagement had resulted in excessive fuel load, inadequate hazard reduction, poor fire-trail access and a lack of management planning. I table this report, Mr Speaker. The member for Eden-Monaro should withdraw and apologise.
Milton Dick Speaker
Is the Leader of the Opposition seeking to table a document?
Angus Taylor Hume, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition
I do seek leave to table the report.
Leave not granted.