Justine Keay (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Lyons for bringing forward this motion and, also, the member for Franklin for sharing her experiences and sharing the devastation that hit her electorate in southern Tasmania. Unfortunately, bushfires have always been a part of our landscape in Tasmania, particularly over the warmer months. Even today, parts of mainland Australia and Tasmania continue to burn. In my state, the Tasmanian Fire Service still has alerts for 27 bushfires. At the height of the Tasmanian bushfire emergency there were 60 active fires across the state.

Like all members in this chamber, I want to acknowledge and say thank you to all the emergency service workers, paid and volunteer, who fought very hard and continue to do so through these bushfires. I also want to say a big thank you to the army of volunteers in the community who are looking after those who have been impacted, whether it be with food or drink or just somewhere to stay. On behalf of the state of Tasmania I say thank you. I also thank all the interstate and overseas firefighters who came to our beautiful state.

In my electorate of Braddon, which covers the north-west and west coast of Tasmania, we had multiple fire fronts throughout late January. Fires were burning on the west coast near Zeehan, in remote areas at Pieman Heads and at Brittons Swamp at Circular Head. The fires near Zeehan required an enormous firefighting effort. Roads were closed and people were evacuated.

As well as destroying thousands of hectares of forest and protected areas, the west coast fires have had a major effect on local businesses. The community of Strahan is the gateway to the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. It's the most beautiful place on this planet. In January and February you expect all the visitors coming to Tasmania to at least get over there, but, sadly, with the road closures, local businesses have suffered. I'm, sadly, aware of one operator who lost $5,000 in bookings in just that very short period of time. I'm also aware that, in many cases, businesses were reduced to winter staffing levels, as people simply could not get there or had the perception that all of Tasmania was on fire and cancelled their bookings. It is not the case now. I encourage everyone to come and visit, particularly the west coast of Tasmania and the far north-west. You will not be disappointed.

The west coast fires are still active, but now burn deeply underground. Firefighters are physically digging the fire out of the ground to extinguish it. While some property has been destroyed, as the member for Franklin has stated, the fact that not a single life was lost is a great credit to all involved. However, large amounts of productive forests, farmland and high-value conservation areas have been destroyed. One phenomenon we have seen is alpine forests destroyed. Sadly, these forests do not regenerate like eucalypt forests do.

Clearly we need to learn from these fire events. Following the devastating 2016 bushfires in the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area on the far north-west coast I recall concerns raised by local firefighters about their inability to properly fight fires due to environmental restrictions. The depth to which machinery could dig to construct firebreaks was limited. It resulted in the fire causing more damage to a protected area than it would have otherwise. A familiar story has been raised this time by the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association, the TFGA. The TFGA has raised concerns that in the early stages of these current fires in some cases firefighters could not use bulldozers to put in containment lines in World Heritage areas or privately owned conservation areas. They've called for a review of strategies used in conservation areas and a greater focus on fuel reduction burns.

I'm sure that after these fires the relevant agencies will come together to review what worked well and what could be improved. I join with the TFGA and local firefighters from my electorate to call upon the state and the federal governments to seriously take on board what are valid concerns. I don't think there is any argument that there will be more of these extreme weather events and, unfortunately, very sadly, more bushfires. What we must do is have the mechanisms in place to allow our firefighters to deal with these emergencies to minimise the risk to life and damage to property and to provide greater protection of our most beautiful natural environment.

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