Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Every regional MP—in particular, Victorian regional MPs—comes into the summer anxious. In my own electorate, we've spent the last few summers anxious about floods. Communities like Rochester, Heathcote and Huntly have been devastated in recent years by big flooding events. In other electorates impacted by bushfire, as we've heard from the member for Mallee and as we'll hear from the member from Wannon and the member for McEwen, who is sitting behind me, it is part of that responsibility that you take on with being a regional MP that, come the summer, you will get the call—I'm relieved that we have not been affected by bushfires so far this season—in the lead-up to Australia Day, that opportunity to go out and meet with your local CFAs and SES to talk about the conditions on the ground. Whilst it's dry in my part of the world, it's not devastatingly dry and scary dry, as they called it in the areas of western Victoria and northern Victoria, like we've heard about so far in this debate. What happens to a community when we have bushfires is devastating. Even more devastating is what happens to our community when those bushfires are continuing, like we have seen in the Grampians.

On 17 December last year, the Grampians National Park fire started. It's continued through January and into February. Boxing Day last year was forecast to have the worst fire conditions since Black Summer. That is how hot and dry it has become in parts of Victoria. Then the day after Australia Day, on 27 January, a fire broke out in Little Desert National Park. These fires have burnt, thus far, in excess of 115,900 hectares, and forecast weather conditions this week are due to continue to pose a high risk.

Emergency personnel like our CFA, Fire Rescue Victoria and Forest Fire Management Victoria are entering their ninth week of battle. I want to acknowledge the many volunteers who put their lives on hold. They put their Christmas and New Year celebrations on hold, and now many of them are putting their work obligations on hold to fight these fires. We are truly blessed and lucky to have such dedicated volunteers to support our communities through these times of crisis.

Support is there for these communities. Through the Australian Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, we as a government are co-contributing to impacted communities. Today the disaster recovery allowance has been made available for people in communities in the Hindmarsh, Horsham and West Wimmera LGAs whose livelihoods have been impacted by the Little Desert National Park fire. DRA provides fortnightly payments for up to 13 weeks to affected people who qualify. It is paid at the JobSeeker rate or the youth allowance rate depending upon the person's circumstances. The joint funding between the Victorian and federal governments around support for small businesses is also under discussion. The Disaster Ready Fund continues to act to help communities to become more resilient towards all natural disaster, from bushfire to flood, allowing them to prepare themselves for what may happen in the future. This is a fund which we benefited from in my own electorate, where we've seen funding go to Campaspe Shire, Mount Alexander Shire and the City of Greater Bendigo to help mitigate the effects of future floods.

Insurance is worth a debate, and it is a debate we need to have soon and quickly. It is alarming to talk to business owners and homeowners who are starting to go down the path of not insuring because they can't afford insurance. That is why this government established an Insurance Affordability and Natural Hazards Risk Reduction Taskforce in May 2024 to look at insurance affordability, and we look forward to their recommendations. It will require a whole-of-economy approach towards this issue.

My heart goes out to those affected in Victoria. None of us want to see this in our community, and I wish them well.

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