John McVeigh (Groom, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the electorate of Groom, I too wish to make a brief contribution to this condolence motion. Whilst not burning within the boundaries of the electorate of Groom, which I represent, our broader region has been impacted by bushfires in recent months, particularly in the areas of Ravensbourne, Pechey and Millmerran. Millmerran and Ravensbourne are in fact in the neighbouring electorate of Maranoa, but they do look towards my city of Toowoomba as their main regional centre. As I speak of these people I must acknowledge the efforts right across of this nation of the member for Maranoa, the minister for natural disasters and emergency management, David Littleproud. I know that he had the opportunity to visit the evacuation centre at Highfields in Groom to meet with displaced residents, emergency workers and volunteers. Of course, we must all recognise that much of the early events in this fire season were on the Granite Belt, in his own electorate.

I acknowledge all colleagues in this place whose communities have also been significantly affected. But above all I join with all speakers and all members of this House in extending our condolences to the families of those here and abroad who have lost their lives, as has been clearly and rightly acknowledged by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. We pray for those brave firefighters and their supporters who remain in the field.

In our broader region we saw property loss and damage and local economic impacts, but thankfully no loss of life as has unfortunately occurred elsewhere across the nation. The Toowoomba region mayor, Paul Antonio, whose own farming property was under threat such that he couldn't access it or his family there for a few days, has rightly talked of improved landscape management—fire hazard reduction, if you like—and other fire prevention activities in the future. I look forward to discussing those issues from a local perspective with local, state and other federal colleagues in the very near future.

Whilst fires still rage, unfortunately, across the nation, it is an ongoing and very stark reminder of the risk that so many of us could potentially face. My own suburb of Toowoomba was evacuated in the fire season of 2002 under the leadership of then Toowoomba city council mayor Dianne Thorley. Given we are Australia's second-biggest inland city on what has been a very dry escarpment indeed, the risk is as high for us as for anyone else. As local fire experts advise us, a bad fire in our region could easily end up being catastrophic. It is for this reason amongst many others that I support the Prime Minister's foreshadowed proposal for a royal commission into this 'black summer' of fires.

In my opinion, everything should be on the table when addressing the hotter, drier climatic conditions that have led to and increased the risk of fire activities and events such as we've seen, including fuel loads in state forests and other privately held land across our landscape and necessary cooperation between local, state and federal authorities. But, as my dear old dad reminded me just this past weekend, reading as he was about the Stretton 1939 royal commission into the Black Friday bushfires in Victoria, we must ensure we are cognisant of the outcomes and recommendations of myriad reviews over the last century, following those earlier bushfire events. We're experiencing them again now, we'll experience them in the future, and appropriate actions must be taken to mitigate and lessen those risks.

In closing, I acknowledge the efforts of all involved in the fight. Volunteers and supporters, those providing food and a bit of respite, for example, are right across our nation and in regional communities in particular. Some of those in our own community were recognised at a local level on Australia Day. In our case, in the electorate of Groom, our local Defence Force representatives from the Oakey Army Aviation Centre and the Borneo Barracks at Cabarlah have done their bit with logistical support for firefighters locally, and most recently as part of the national response.

In closing, I will share that my eldest daughter's partner is a chopper pilot and has been involved in firefighting for many months now across various states and various fires. He'd be very embarrassed if I just focused on him, so I will simply refer to him as an example of the tireless efforts of so many across our nation. They are, as many other members have reflected, working hour after hour, day after day, week after week—in fact, month after month—and in many cases they are doing that away from home, for weeks on end and with few and in some cases no breaks whatsoever. I acknowledge them, these professionals and volunteers, who continue to work shoulder to shoulder to protect our nation.

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