Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in this place today to speak on emergency management in my community, which is extremely important right now as South Australia enters fire danger season once again. Before jumping into the subject matter, I first want to address a relevant event that occurred in my community over the weekend. Most importantly, I want to pay tribute to the brave individuals who responded to it.

On Saturday 2 November, at around 2.30 pm local time, a grassfire was sparked in Penfield, just adjacent to my community's central urban corridor. This fire soon became out of control, with life-threatening conditions developing in minutes. Roads were closed across the affected areas, and residents were advised by the SA Country Fire Service, the CFS, to leave their homes due to the danger that was present. In just a matter of hours, 33 hectares or 81 acres of land was burned as the fire moved southward, with damage being caused to a shed and several glasshouses in the area. According to SA ambulance services, six people were treated by paramedics, with three of those individuals hospitalised due to smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion caused by the flames. By 4.50 pm, the threat was reduced, and the advice from the CFS was downgraded, having contained the fire by evening.

The CFS, as well as their metropolitan counterparts, the MFS, had committed 42 crews to respond to the blaze and fought bravely to protect our community once more. It's due to their efforts that this threat was extinguished, with no home suffering damage in the end and no loss of human life, which is most important. To these men and women who give up their time, often as volunteers, to ensure the safety of us and our loved ones, to those who continue to stare down fire danger season and put their lives on the line for others in the most unimaginable of conditions, from the bottom of my heart and the hearts of everyone in the communities of the northern suburbs, thank you. Your efforts across the CFS and MFS embody the Australian spirit and make our community, our states and our nation all the better for it. I would also like to acknowledge the tireless paramedics for their efforts in treating members of our community who were affected by the fire, as well as the quick-thinking residents of Penfield who responded and assisted emergency services by following their advice.

As communities all across the country can attest, the impact of bushfires like this leaves devastating scars across our great landscape and even deeper ones in the hearts of Australian families. Communities north of Adelaide are no stranger to this, having suffered devastating losses due to fires at Pinery, Sampson Flat and Humbug Scrub just in the last decade alone. So having to follow the CFS alert throughout the summer and trawl their social media whilst watching the bushfire advice, anxiously waiting for updates to arrive with your loved ones, is something familiar to our community, and I wanted to take the opportunity to talk about what we're doing as a government to assist our firefighters keeping us safe. In my position, it's no good just thanking them for their efforts and leaving it at that. It's the role of government to support those firefighters, and I'm proud to be part of a federal government that is investing to do just that.

Last month, alongside the Minister for Emergency Management, Senator the Hon. Jenny McAllister, I viewed the new Pickering UH-60L Blackhawk heavy-lift helicopter that is now on standby at Parafield Airport. This was part of a $48 million investment towards the national aerial firefighting fleet by the federal government. Crucially, alongside a 4,500-litre capacity for water to fight fires, the aircraft can facilitate other duties in emergency management with heavy-lift capabilities. This can include delivering food supplies and essential resources in times of emergency, not just during bushfire season but also during times of flood or extreme storms. The aircraft is now part of South Australia's largest aerial firefighting fleet on record, following a record investment by the state government as well. An asset like the Blackhawk helicopter doesn't go unnoticed in our community, because having something like this clearly visible just over Main North Road right in the middle of the northern suburbs helps bring assurance to our community that they are safe to live here. It does that by equipping our firefighting services with the best available tools at their disposal to safely and efficiently respond to these life-threatening events.

In closing, to all our emergency service personnel both in Spence and across the country, thank you for your service. To the community broadly at home, download the Alert SA app, keep up to date with emergencies in your area and remember to plan and prepare this fire season.

House adjourned at 19 : 59

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