Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

In my role as Special Envoy for Disaster Recovery, I'm always on the lookout for good examples of community recovery and resilience building. During a recent trip to Western Australia, I witnessed two excellent examples of this at the City of Swan and the City of Wanneroo. I saw how federal government support is helping assist with important work.

During my visit I met the bushfire recovery team from the City of Swan with the member for Hasluck, Tania Lawrence. The Wooroloo bushfire started on 1 February 2021 and burned more than 10,000 hectares over seven days. The bushfire caused extensive damage, destroying 86 homes and damaging many more. We discussed ongoing recovery efforts from the devastating bushfire. I heard how the $18.1 million jointly funded Commonwealth-state disaster recovery funding arrangements helped to provide support for ongoing recovery, including a residential clean-up program focusing on removing bushfire damaged waste for rebuilding; a community recovery and outreach program to lead community driven recovery projects, including access to emotional support services; and a recreational asset restoration program to prioritise the clean-up and repair of community assets relied upon for everyday activities.

While I was in Perth, I also visited the City of Wanneroo. In the lead-up to Christmas 2019, the City of Wanneroo was hit by a major bushfire. The blaze destroyed 13,000 hectares and caused thousands of homes to be evacuated. Following the bushfire, the City of Wanneroo received grant funding from the Australian government, through the Preparing Australian Communities—Local Stream program for its Prepare Together Project. The Prepare Together Project aims to reach 5,000 families with key fire mitigation and emergency preparedness information through a series of communications, workshops and information sessions. It was great to attend a Prepare Together Project information session with the member for Pearce, Tracey Roberts, to see how the project is helping the community to prepare for more frequent and intense emergencies so as to reduce the impact of future disasters.

Now, while bushfire readiness is a focus, the project ultimately aims to reduce impacts and save lives from the occurrence of any major emergency. The project provides residents with information and resources to help them understand the risk and how it's changing, while also learning how to access up-to-date alerts and warnings. I'd like to thank the City of Swan, the City of Wanneroo and the members for Hasluck and Pearce for taking the time to share their experiences of the bushfires and their ongoing recovery with me, and for their candid feedback about the significant challenges posed by the ongoing recovery workload and associated costs.

This has been a recurring theme throughout my visits to disaster impacted communities. I've repeatedly heard how state and territory governments have been stretched in their abilities to deliver support and how this has had a flow-on effect to local governments. That is why I was proud to announce in June that councils across Australia will be able to fast-track local repair works, with the Albanese government advancing nearly $1.8 billion in disaster payments to the states. I thank all the councils, including the City of Swan and the City of Wanneroo, who shared their experiences and feedback with the government to help shape this decision. And I thank local MPs like Tania Lawrence in Hasluck and Tracey Roberts in Pearce for their ongoing advocacy on behalf of their communities. The Albanese government will continue to listen to councils, and, in close partnership with the states, will make sure that regions have access to the support they need when they need it.