Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the request of Senators Watt and Griff, I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) reports that, in December 2017, the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) submitted a business case to the Government requesting a permanent increase in funding of $11 million to its annual budget,

(ii) evidence from the Department of Home Affairs that, as at 6 December 2019, the Government was still considering the business case, and

(iii) that when asked about the business case on 4 January 2020, the Commissioner of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Mr Shane Fitzsimmons, said that "We haven't seen a positive response to that business case"; and

(b) recognises that, given the Government's failure to respond to the NAFC business case for at least 2 years, more could have been done to ensure adequate aerial firefighting capability during the 2019 bushfire season.