Robert McClelland (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—With summer not far away and the bushfire season imminent, I would like to take this opportunity to present to the House the Commonwealth’s response to the final report of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. During the summer of February 2009, Australia experienced one of its worst natural disasters—the devastating Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria that resulted in the deaths of 173 people and extensive damage to land and property, and affected the lives of so many people. To date, the Commonwealth has provided over $467 million to support the reconstruction and recovery of the many Victorian families and communities that were so tragically affected by this event. We are, however, acutely conscious that financial compensation alone cannot make up for the enormous loss, physical or otherwise, suffered by so many people on those days. That is why the Commonwealth is committed to taking what practical steps it can to reduce the chances of future disasters of that scale occurring again.

In the aftermath of the 2009 Victorian bushfires, the Commonwealth invested significant efforts to improve Australia’s preparedness for bushfires and other disasters. As a result, the Commonwealth is significantly better prepared for this year’s bushfire season and stands ready to assist the states and territories if and when a disaster strikes. The Commonwealth government continues to play a significant role in the recovery effort. I acknowledge the work of Minister Macklin in the government’s immediate response and ongoing reconstruction effort, particularly as the Chair of the Commonwealth Victorian Bushfire Taskforce. I also note the important work of the former parliamentary secretary, Mr Shorten, in his engagement with affected communities and in supporting the Commonwealth’s role.

Let me turn now to the final report of the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. The Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission was established on 16 February 2009. The commission released two interim reports, on 17 August and 24 November 2009, targeting priority issues for action in preparation for the 2009-10 bushfire season. For the Commonwealth, these related primarily to the delivery of emergency warnings to the Australian public, arrangements for the provision of operational assistance to the states and territories, and planning and building controls in bushfire-prone areas. The government acted decisively and has made significant progress in implementing the commission’s interim recommendations.

The commission released its final report on 31 July 2010. The report contained 67 recommendations, of which five were primarily directed at the Commonwealth. These relate to bushfire awareness and research, Commonwealth firefighting resources, bushfire arson and environment protection legislation. The Commonwealth strongly supports these recommendations, and I will outline the government’s response in respect of each.

The Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission’s recommendation for the development of a national bushfire awareness campaign recognises that bushfire awareness and knowledge are crucial if we are to make adequate preparations and informed decisions about such events. The Commonwealth fully supports the intent of this recommendation. We note, however, that such a campaign would need to be adapted to meet the unique conditions and emergency management arrangements of each state and territory. To this end, the Prime Minister announced on 13 August 2010 that the Commonwealth would work with states and territories to develop such a campaign.

The commission also recommended the development of an agreement that would allow the use of Commonwealth aircraft for firefighting and also support activities. Let me assure the House that the Commonwealth is committed to supporting state and territory firefighting operations in times of disaster. In particular, Commonwealth support is already provided under the terms of the Commonwealth Disaster Plan and the Defence Assistance to the Civilian Community arrangements. Through these arrangements the Commonwealth is able to provide the states and territories with access to specialised equipment and technology from the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, and the Department of Defence depending on the particular circumstances of each event. The Commonwealth continually monitors the effectiveness of these support arrangements and has implemented a number of initiatives to enable more effective planning and utilisation of Commonwealth resources during bushfires and also other events.

Another recommendation of direct relevance to the Commonwealth is that relating to bushfire arson reduction. Following the 2009 Victorian bushfires, I instituted an annual forum of Australia’s fire, police, social services and justice agencies to promote national collaboration in combating bushfire arson. I take this opportunity to thank all the participants from the states and territories. The forum has proven to be very successful with a number of initiatives developed to share information about convicted and suspected arsonists and improve the expertise of arson investigators across the country. A key outcome has been the establishment of the National Action Plan to Reduce Bushfire Arson in Australia, which was specifically welcomed by the commission.

The commission also recommended that the Commonwealth provide guidance and, where necessary, amend environment protection legislation to facilitate annual bushfire prevention activities. The Commonwealth supports the intent of this recommendation and is working to ensure that adequate guidance is available about the application of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 in respect to these matters and specifically in respect to bushfire prevention and management activities such as roadside clearing. The EPBC Act as it is commonly known also contains a number of tools, including conservation agreements and strategic assessments, which can assist in this regard.

The Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission also recommended the establishment of a national centre for bushfire research to support long-term, interdisciplinary bushfire research. The Commonwealth supports greater research and analysis being undertaken in regard to all hazards, including of course the devastation that bushfires cause. This commitment was confirmed by the Prime Minister earlier this year when she committed the Commonwealth to work with the states and territories to provide national leadership on bushfire research.

Establishment of a national research centre would require ongoing commitment from all governments. The Australian Emergency Management Institute, within my portfolio, could play a key role, we believe, in this regard. An integral part of the institute’s current role is the delivery of strategic research for the emergency management sector on a range of all-hazards issues. As such, the institute is well placed to work with jurisdictions towards a national disaster resilience centre of excellence. To this end, the Commonwealth will work with Victoria and the other states and territories to develop options for the promotion of bushfire research within the nationally agreed all-hazards framework.

Beyond these five recommendations specifically targeted at the Commonwealth, the commission also made a number of other recommendations and findings of broader national significance. These included, for example, in relation to the development of the Commonwealth funded national telephone based emergency warning system, ‘Emergency Alert’ as it is known. Significantly, it should be noted that the Commonwealth has already committed to fund this system’s enhancement to enable the delivery of warnings to mobile phones based on their location at the time of an emergency as opposed to billing addresses, which is currently the situation.

The Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission should be commended for its important work.

In particular, I wish to place on record the Commonwealth’s sincere appreciation for the dedication and hard work of the three commissioners—the Hon. Bernard Teague AO, Commissioner Ron McLeod AM and Commissioner Susan Pascoe AM as well as all supporting counsel.

The Commonwealth welcomes the commission’s findings and will continue to work closely with Victoria and other states and territories to address the commission’s recommendations.

Above all, the Commonwealth remains firmly committed to assisting the states and territories improve their emergency management arrangements by enhancing Australia’s resilience to disasters.

The detailed response by the Commonwealth to the commission’s recommendations will be available on the Attorney-General’s website and circulated to the media this afternoon.

I thank the House for its attention.

I ask leave of the House to move a motion to enable the member for Stirling to speak for 10 minutes.

Leave granted.

I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the member for Stirling speaking in reply to the ministerial statement for a period not exceeding 10 minutes.

Question agreed to.

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