Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes with alarm the burden placed on the bushfire affected residents of the Blue Mountains and Central Coast via the combined mismanagement of recovery processes by the Australian and New South Wales governments;

(2) acknowledges that while emergency personnel and volunteers acted swiftly and bravely to minimise the impact of the horrific October fires, the Australian and New South Wales governments have made decisions that have hurt families and businesses in the aftermath of the fires, namely:

(a) failing to extend full disaster relief support payments;

(b) presiding over a poorly executed response to the clean-up process; and

(c) breaking a promise by failing to provide consequential concessional loans to small businesses struggling to recover after the fires; and

(3) calls on both the Australian and New South Wales governments to urgently act to remedy this situation and assist homes and businesses to fully recover in a quicker timeframe.

I rise on an issue of prime importance to the people of the Blue Mountains in the wake of the devastating bushfires in October. It is now 53 days since these bushfires occurred. It remains evident that those affected by the bushfires, many of whom were left homeless, have been abandoned by the federal government. The clean-up effort has been tardy and the government has walked away from its commitment to meet consequential damage concessional loans to small businesses in the Blue Mountains—in particular, to tourism businesses in this internationally famous place of beauty, which have been crippled. Some business operators are reporting that revenue is down 80 per cent. Householders, left sifting through the ruins of their much loved properties, have had the body blow of being told they need to sign waivers accepting liability for the clean-up of their sites.

What is particularly disturbing about the entire saga is that it appears that little has been learnt from the devastating Victorian and Tasmanian bushfires when it comes to the disaster recovery effort. In Victoria, for example, some 2,000 homes were caught up in the raging fires, 10 times the number that were devastatingly lost in the Blue Mountains in October. In Victoria, a contract was enforced to have the debris cleaned up in 21 days, and that was with more homes affected. In Tasmania, where around the same number of properties were claimed by the bushfires as those in the Blue Mountains, the equivalent contract demanded the clean-up be completed within eight days.

I repeat: the Blue Mountains fires raged 53 days ago and the clean-up effort is at a bureaucratic crawl—and the Liberal Party has led this crawl. Governments demand plenty of their citizens, who pay their taxes, pay their levies and pay their school fees. So, when disaster strikes, it behoves government to support their own in a time of need—not to make promises and then walk away from responsibility. But, I hasten to add, this has happened in the Blue Mountains in the wake of these fires. The buck-passing has been there for everyone to see. It has been the governmental order of the day that devastated families and businesses have been the collateral damage. There have been few sadder and more heart-wrenching sights than watching families in the Blue Mountains return to what is left of everything they had—their homes—to sift through the rubble to find whatever they can take away to remind them of what they had; in some cases, it is the smallest trinket. What they did not need after that was to be left wondering what was going to happen next in their lives. They were left in a no-man's land between levels of government that could not or would not show leadership in this time of crisis.

For the federal government to impose new and restrictive criteria on government disaster recovery payments, as per the regime upheld by the Labor government previously, is mean spirited to say the least.

Mrs Markus interjecting—

Member for Macquarie, you may have private views on the changes to these processes but I have not heard you stand up and criticise your government on the way it has treated people in the past. I do not say these words lightly. As the record shows, when my party has been in government I have stood up to demand better for the people I am proud to represent. If you have any issue with the way that disaster recovery is being delivered, then you have a prime opportunity to speak up for the people of Macquarie in this chamber and demand that it is improved. It should be better. I read through the statistics and it has taken 53 days for the recovery process to get underway—and that is after what we have seen in Tasmania and Victoria. I have previously given credit to the federal government when they have lent people a hand. For instance, I was very quick to support the Filipino-Australian community—whom I now represent and you previously represented—after Typhoon Haiyan. Australia has been a fantastically generous international citizen. We do spend hundreds of millions on international aid where it is needed, but people also want to see the same speedy response that the Abbott government has given to Haiyan extended to the Blue Mountains. This is a classic case where the government has gone to great lengths to be seen doing the right thing internationally, but it needs to do more on our local patch.

I have previously mentioned the onerous restrictions on the clean-up effort, whereby the New South Wales Liberal government threw the ball to insurance companies, saying, 'You run with it'. That meant the recovery effort stalled, leaving affected home and business owners nowhere to turn. The responsibility, or at least the liability, for the clean-up was forced on property owners who were required to sign a legally-binding waiver. It is just more buck-passing by the coalition government. Only in recent days has this, fortunately, changed with the government agreeing to cover the costs of removing concrete slabs, for instance, where homeowners have decided to rebuild on a different footprint. In Tasmania and Victoria they seem to have got their recovery right, with a single contractor charged with organising and handling the clean-up and recovery effort. In New South Wales it looks as if it has taken longer for those lessons to sink in. This motion, in part, calls on the New South Wales government to engage in a single contract to fund the total clean-up and later to engage individual insurers to recoup funds that have been outlaid. It should have been done from the start. A lot of heartache could have been avoided; a whole lot of angst and bad blood could have been sidestepped.

The second area of concern is the treatment of small business operators in the Blue Mountains. Some operators, of which there are thousands, have reported downturns of up to 80 per cent. At the height of the fires people from outside the Blue Mountains were rightly told to stay away and there was a mass exodus of residents fleeing the fire grounds. The few roads that remained open were clogged with fire trucks and other emergency services vehicles frantically trying to limit the impact of these blazes. The financial pain for business operators has lingered: there will not be the annual throng of visitors to the tourist spots over the holiday season and so the businesses are not recovering. To add salt to the wounds of those affected, a muddled assistance regime from the federal government has effectively benefited businesses that lost trade on the fringes of the worst areas but nothing has been offered to those business operators whose properties were consumed by the fires. So, I ask the federal government: why? Where are the small business consequential damage concessional grants to these poor folk? Why have they been left with nowhere to turn? Their only instructions have been to deal with an insurer. This is not what good governments do. It is particularly ironic given that the Liberal Party prides itself on looking after business. As I have said many times in this place in recent weeks, it said one thing before the election and another thing after it—not just on school funding, but also on the Blue Mountains disaster and small business assistance packages. My colleague Senator Doug Cameron has put a great deal of effort fighting for the people of the Blue Mountains after these fires, and he estimates the federal government has perhaps ripped $4 million from small business assistance in the form of promised grants. Senator Cameron has put the microscope on the recovery effort in an area where, he knows too well, the state and federal governments have been found wanting. The finger of blame can be pointed even further down the line. I have heard of cases where residents were desperate to clear properties as the fire approached and took vegetation to the local waste management site only to be told they were required to pay more than $100 to offload a trailer of green vegetation. It is simply not right.

My electorate of Chifley sits close by. We could read about and see the fires, but we could also smell them and see the ash falling around us in Western Sydney. I take this opportunity to praise the brave efforts of the many emergency services workers and the RFS brigades in our area. The firefighters on the ground put themselves in great danger to limit the impact of these fires. There are three brigades in my area—Shanes Park, Eastern Creek and Plumpton. I understand that Plumpton put in 2,700 man-hours of work to help with the management of these blazes. Police managed traffic to avoid what could have been absolute chaos when ambulance officers were treating the injured and the smoke affected or those who were just plain exhausted. It is a testament to the skill of the emergency services workers that lives were not lost on a grand scale in October.

The harshness and ruggedness of Australia are features we are internationally famous for; they can also be our greatest enemy. No matter how many precautions are put in place, we do experience these terrible incidents where nature works violently against us. It pains me to see the efforts of volunteers who take time off work being undermined because of bureaucratic shifting from one level of government to another. I fully agree with the seven points in the motion. Recovery efforts have to be coordinated and improved, and they have to happen sooner rather than later. The dollar figure has to be sorted out properly and the penny-pinching by state and federal governments has to end now. The federal election has come and gone, but the suffering of the people still lingers. They should not be forced to endure any more.

Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Louise Markus (Macquarie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the private member's motion moved by the member for Chifley. Firstly, to the member for Shortland, on behalf of my constituents, can I extend our deepest regret for what you and your community have experienced. Having walked the journey with my community over recent months, I want to extend to you our thoughts. I particularly extend condolences to the family and friends of Walter Linder. In the Blue Mountains and the Hawkesbury we experienced significant devastation and loss, but, fortunately, there has been no loss of life, which is miraculous.

It is of deep sadness to me that the member for Chifley would seek to criticise and politicise at a time when the people of my community are trying to rebuild after what has been a devastating and traumatic two months. It has been my observation that those opposite are seeking to play politics with the emotions, minds and hearts of people rather than reaching out and providing help where it is needed. During the recent bushfires, the Leader of the Opposition was quoted during a press conference as saying, 'Matters such as these emergencies are above politics.' I am disappointed that the behaviour of Senator Doug Cameron and others opposite has proved this statement false. I do not have time now to list every time I have seen the senator behave in a very inappropriate fashion, particularly to my community, who are suffering at this time.

The impacts of the bushfires in my electorate of Macquarie have been significant. Two hundred and eight homes have been lost, with another 191 damaged. All three major fires—the Linksview Road fire, the Mount York Road fire and the State Mine fire—have resulted in significant damage and loss throughout the Blue Mountains and the Hawkesbury, and the impacts will be felt for some time to come. The fires hit hardest on 17 October. At the time, I was with my own local fire brigade getting ready to hop on a truck to head up to Bilpin when the seriousness of what was happening at Springwood began to unfold. I had to meander my way around closed roads and so on to reach the affected people at the Springwood evacuation centre, where I spent most of that evening with families, emergency services and NGOs.

Early Friday was a very emotional time. Escorted by police, I stood with members of the community in front of their destroyed and damaged homes, and many of these people are facing their own challenges already. In fact, there was one young mum whose daughter was in the hospital for that week for serious surgery, and while that was happening and her focus needed to be there she was losing her home.

Since that terrible day, I have been witness to the significant loss and hardship for the people of my community and have done my best to respond with whatever assistance is needed on the ground. What this motion fails to recognise is the incredible response on the ground by both the federal and state governments within the first hours and days following the disaster, not to mention the response by the community. I wish to enlighten the member opposite, as I failed to see him during this time. In the first 24 hours following 17 October, I was joined by both the Prime Minister and the Minister for Human Services on the ground in Springwood and Winmalee. In fact, the Minister for Human Services spent close to a week there, making sure that all the services that were required on the ground were there. The Minister for Human Services was quick to assess what was needed for families and acted appropriately. A mobile Centrelink was set up at Summerhayes Park in Winmalee. We had to ask them to move it as the fires came quite perilously close; it was an emergency that went on for more than 10 days. Centrelink officers were stationed at all evacuation centres as well as at every local Centrelink office. They were open all weekend.

On 18 October the state government announced the appointment of Phil Koperberg to lead the recovery efforts and the team. On 21 October, the Blue Mountains Bushfire Recovery Committee was established to begin work. Both the local member and I were part of this. On 22 October the recovery centre opened in Springwood. The centre has been a one-stop shop for Blue Mountains recovery, for all agencies and for people to access on a daily basis. Included in that recovery centre from the first day it opened were representatives from Centrelink, the tax office, other government departments, the Salvation Army and other NGOs providing vital services to people that were experiencing a very tough time and still do today.

I would like to address the false and misleading claims made by the member for Chifley and to point out the following information regarding disaster relief payments which have been activated: within 24 hours the federal government activated the Australian government disaster recovery payment so that those who had been most severely affected could get assistance right away. The disaster recovery payment allows families who have been severely affected by the fires, those who have a lost or damaged house, have been severely injured or have lost a loved one—fortunately we lost no-one—to access payments of $1,000 per adult and $400 per child. For the first time ever we activated the disaster recovery allowance, which provides 13 weeks of income support to those who have lost income as a result of the bushfires. Labor failed to do this. The disaster recovery payment is designed to be flexible assistance.

Labor's claim that the payments were removed is false and, in fact, seems to be criticising their own approach given that when in government Labor have also adopted this approach by activating different criteria for different disasters. In fact, Labor used the same eligibility criteria that we have put in place on five occasions while they were in government: in January 2008 for storms and flooding in Mackay; in February 2008 for flooding in Mackay; in November 2008 for storms in Queensland; in May 2009 for storms and flooding in south-east Queensland and New South Wales; and in March 2010 for storms in Victoria. Labor have incorrectly stated that we did not activate the payment for those whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the fires. Along with this, I have been approached by a member of the public who witnessed Senator Cameron at the recovery centre approach a distraught resident and hassle them about the disaster recovery payments—very inappropriate. This behaviour should be absolutely condemned.

Let me bring some very important figures to the attention of those opposite. I have the latest figures, as of 5 December, from the Department of Human Services. For the AGDRP, the number of claims finalised is 764, at $833,600. For the disaster recovery allowance, 44 claims have been finalised, with the payments reaching $21,977. The cumulative number of calls to the Australian Government Emergency Information Line is more than 1,000. These figures do not include the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements, nor do they include the raft of other measures: fast-tracking of tax refunds by the Australian Taxation Office; waived passport fees and streamlined processing of replacement passports; free mail redirection from Australia Post; and access to essential PBS medicines under the arrangement between the Department of Health and local pharmacists.

Following the impact of the initial emergency, the area of the Blue Mountains is now well into the recovery-and-clean-up phase. This is a very important phase. On 14 November 2013, the Minister for Justice made a joint announcement with the NSW government that we would be sharing the cost of cleaning up and removing debris from the bushfire affected properties in the Blue Mountains. This additional financial support came after an initial $1.4 million commitment by the state government, which funded urgent work to make safe sites containing asbestos in the bushfire zone. I also acknowledge that the Army was present on the ground, emptying unfenced pools, removing unsafe trees and also making sites safe in the weeks that followed. By taking these methodical steps in partnership with insurers, the state government is ensuring that 100 per cent of a homeowner's insurance payout is directed towards rebuilding, not spent on the clean-up.

Since the announcement on 14 November, the government has worked to move efficiently throughout this process, and it is estimated that between 40,000 and 60,000 tonnes of debris will be removed from the Blue Mountains. Based on similar tragedies in other jurisdictions, the clean-up operation could take months. It took five months to clear properties following the Tasmanian fires in 2012.

Let me also talk briefly about the business assistance that is available. We are absolutely 100 per cent committed to delivering on the $100,000 concessional interest rate loans. There is also additional assistance for businesses that are affected. Already, small businesses whose assets have been directly damaged by New South Wales fires may be eligible for concessional interest rate loans of up to $130,000. There is also additional assistance available from various sources. We also provided a holiday from PAYG.

We are progressing the $100,000 concessional loan as quickly as possible. Labor for six years failed to implement this. They never came up with that idea, nor did they attempt to deliver it. We are getting on with the job. We are committed to supporting our local communities throughout this whole process. There is no quick fix for recovering from a natural disaster of this magnitude. (Time expired)

Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Thursday, 17 October, fires devastated the Central Coast and the southern part of Shortland electorate, just as they did the Blue Mountains, and I pass on my condolences and support to the people of the Blue Mountains area. In Shortland electorate, it had enormous impact on the people who lived there, on their homes and on their lives. Thousands of people had to be evacuated from their homes. During the evacuation they were forced to move to evacuation centres either at Doyalson or at Swansea, and these areas were also without electricity for a long period of time. As the member previously mentioned, there was loss of life as well as loss of property. Nowhere near the number of houses was lost in the Shortland electorate as was lost in the Blue Mountains, but the suffering of people in that area was quite significant.

When the electricity was disconnected and people were forced to leave their homes, it caused a loss of food. One of my constituents, Bianca Uicich, lives in Catherine Hill Bay, where water has to be brought into the area because there is no town water, so her water was used to fight the fires. After she was allowed back home, she had to throw out everything that she had in her freezer and at the same time had to pay to get new water to drink and use in the house. On investigation—and this is very significant because Bianca is a student; she is studying education at the University of Newcastle—I was absolutely astounded to find out that she could not access the AGDR payment because, unlike on previous occasions, that was only going to be paid to somebody who lost their home or lost their life.

There were some people at Catherine Hill Bay who lost their homes, and they accessed it. People like Ken Marples, who lost absolutely everything, received the $1,000 payment, but, unfortunately, I had to link him into charities in the area, because that $1,000 does very little to help sustain him.

I am astounded that this payment is not being made to families. There were a number of people who have contacted my office about this. People have been absolutely devastated by the fires. I think this it is not a time for blaming. I was a bit disappointed with the member across the chamber's contribution. I think it is a time that we should all join together and fight to get these things for our constituents. We really need to do that.

Government Member:

A government member interjecting—

Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What the member for Chifley is trying to do is actually pull the government onside so that people who have lost thousands and thousands of dollars, who may not have any coverage from insurance companies, can get a payment with some dignity; people who slept on the floor of recreation centres, people who then had to turn around, go home and clean up their houses; people who may not have had their house burn down but still suffered significant losses. I think that the role of government is to support them.

The government's response initially in the Shortland electorate was good. But they have definitely failed the people of Shortland when it comes to emergency payments to help them cover the financial losses that they had at the time, to help them get on with their lives and to take up where they left off. It is not good enough that we get weasel words from the minister about why it cannot happen. What we should all be doing here in this parliament is saying that we want the best for our constituents. (Time expired)

John Cobb (Calare, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on private members' business relating to the government's response to the Blue Mountains and Central Coast bushfires. It is a shame, and I will say that I am shocked that the member for Chifley neglected to point out in his motion that the bushfires also very much affected the Lithgow region, a very important part of Calare.

I am also shocked that somebody like the member for Chifley, who would not know what a bushfire was if it bit him on the backside, would get up and say this. I realise he is young and ambitious and wants to make a name for himself, but this is not the way to do it. I am pretty disgusted, to be honest.

I concede that what happened in my part of the world was nowhere near as bad as what happened in the electorate of Macquarie or the Blue Mountains, which was horrific. It was an amazing thing that there was no loss of life. But there were enormous losses to people. In my part of the world we lost half a dozen homes or so, but it was nothing like what happened further up in the mountains. Even so, we did lose about 30,000 square kilometres, burnt out, but the member for Chifley would not really be aware of those sorts of things.

I spoke about the local response in parliament only a few weeks ago. I have to say again that it is a shame that the opposition are trying to make political points when this fire was as well-run as any I have seen. In my part of the world, I have to say that the response by the bushfire brigade, particularly the rural bushfire section, did an extremely good job. They worked with the council, the police and everybody. It was as good as anything I have seen. They could focus on joining with us, both federal and state governments, to help those communities rebuild, repair and regenerate.

As my colleague the member for Macquarie has already mentioned we are committed to working with the state—in fact, we are contributing half of the cost of recovery. That covers things including the demolition of damaged houses and removal of debris, as well as emergency food, clothing and accommodation for people impacted by the bushfires.

About the clean-up: I know that the Army obviously has a part to play in this. At the minute the railway contacted me about their problems I put the Army in contact with them, and they made themselves available to them to help to the nth degree.

During the height of the fire threat for the Lithgow region I visited the various centres in town and I can, as I have already said, attest to the support that was being provided by everybody. The 23 RAAF Base Glenbrook volunteers assisted with the clean-up at the Zig Zag Railway at Lithgow. They sorted bushfire-damaged scrap and salvageable items. Further assistance was available locally from the RAAF Base at Glenbrook, and non-emergency Defence assistance to the civil community could also be provided.

In general, the Australian government has activated the disaster recovery payment and the disaster recovery allowance—obviously with the payment being the immediate payment and the allowance continuing on for weeks for those who have lost income as a result of the bushfires. Sadly, I know one person who is very aware of what bushfires can do, and it is a bit rich for the opposition to criticise when it was actually the Howard government who designed the disaster recovery payment to be a flexible assistance measure. When in government, Labor also adopted this approach by activating different criteria for different disasters. Small businesses whose assets have been directly damaged by the bushfires may also be eligible for concessional interest rate loans of up to $130,000, jointly provided by New South Wales and the Commonwealth.

Our government will do what it should do for people who are affected by fire which, by its suddenness and what it does, is worse than flood and drought. I come from a part of the world which was probably the most bushfire affected in New South Wales back in the seventies, eighties and nineties. It does not seem to have had so many lately—maybe the seasons have not been quite as good.

I stand by what the government has done and will do so in the future. I am absolutely disgusted that somebody who is young and wants to make a name for himself wants to make a name for himself like this.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The bushfires that affected the Blue Mountains, Lithgow and the Central Coast regions of New South Wales in October and November this year were truly devastating. At the outset I want to join with my Labor colleagues in acknowledging the tremendous work of our emergency service personnel and the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, including the thousands of volunteers that helped limit the devastation that was wrought across the state.

While my electorate of Newcastle was spared extensive damage, blazes in Salt Ash and those that came perilously close to our airport and the RAAF base at Williamtown were worrying, and certainly affected a number of residents and businesses. My neighbouring electorate of Shortland experienced major fires in the Gateshead and Catherine Hill Bay areas, and my colleague Jill Hall has worked tirelessly to support her constituents at this time of need.

Hundreds of properties were under threat from the various blazes for a number of weeks. However, thanks to the preparation and mitigation work before the blazes hit, and the tremendous response efforts of various bodies, few properties were in fact lost. The community of Catherine Hill Bay, just south of Newcastle, was not totally spared, and did lose a number of historic properties and businesses, notably Woollahra House, an 1887-built homestead that was on the market to be sold for the first time, was destroyed. And a service station on the link road between the Central Coast and Newcastle—more famous, perhaps, for its giant prawn that its petrol—was also destroyed.

Aside from the recognition already given to the Rural Fire Service, I would also like to make special note of one of the forgotten heroes of disaster management, the RSPCA. They played an important role in the evacuation and care of domestic animals and wildlife, creating specialised services at evacuation centres reuniting pets and owners that had been separated because of the fires.

Make no mistake, however, the fire mitigation and response activities helped to limit the loss of property and life. The weather forecasting and other early warning systems developed by CSIRO helped residents prepare their properties and evacuate dangerous areas well before fires hit. CSIRO's forecasting is now so precise that I have no doubt their skills and expertise have saved many properties and lives.

As already acknowledged, the disaster response efforts of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service and other emergency bodies also saved property and lives. On the other hand, the recovery effort in New South Wales has been haphazard and continues to cause trauma to the lives of hundreds of residents and local businesses.

It is with dismay that I stand here today to speak on this motion. It has been more than 50 days since the bushfires raged through New South Wales and, to a large extent, the clean-up effort has only just commenced. Squabbling between state and federal governments has prolonged the trauma for residents and businesses, and it has to stop. Action is required. I note that efforts have been made over the past few days to commence the demolition, clearing and rubble removal that is required to start the rebuilding process, but it has taken far too long and the process has been flawed.

Residents traumatised by the loss of their homes and possessions had to take to the media in order to get things moving and to have their cases dealt with properly. The mental and physical trauma experienced by those affected residents and businesses cannot be quantified. However, the economic costs can be.

Blue Mountains, Lithgow and Oberon Tourism have estimated the region is down $47 million in revenue already. Their estimates show day trips alone have dropped by more than 144,000, resulting in flow-on losses of about $13 million for local businesses. Small businesses are the lifeblood of these communities but their recovery is being held back. Just last week the Minister for Small Business wrote to my Labor colleague Senator Doug Cameron confirming the circumstances in which disaster recovery payments are made available. I quote: 'People who have significant hardship, including the loss of a loved one and serious injury, or those whose homes have been significantly damaged or destroyed, are to be the priority areas.'

Minister, I can assure you that the small businesses of the Blue Mountains and the Central Coast are going through significant hardship and could benefit from the full range of disaster relief payments including, as promised, the consequential concessional loans to small businesses struggling to recover after the fires.

As a nation, we are getting much better at prevention and mitigation. But we need to remedy this situation to assist everyone to fully recover as soon as possible. That is the intent of this motion. (Time expired)

Fiona Scott (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in opposition to the member for Chifley's private member's motion relating to the government response in supporting those residents in New South Wales who were adversely affected by the recent bushfires. I would like to start by commending the work of the rural bushfire brigade and the emergency services that went above and beyond the call of duty to help so many people across the region. My electorate of Lindsay neighbours that of Macquarie. It was within my own electorate that I witnessed firsthand the commitment and the work of the Prime Minister, the Minister for Human Services and the Minister for Justice, coordinated by the state member for Macquarie, where they provided help, support and assistance to the people of the Hawkesbury and the Blue Mountains. Their on-the-ground work, alongside each other, ensured the Australian government's response to this disaster was swift and that those who needed our support got it without delay. I would also like to commend my local community groups in the Lindsay region, including the Penrith Panthers, which housed 1,500 firefighters throughout the entire ordeal.

I would like to remind those opposite that, with regard to disaster recovery payment eligibility criteria, the Howard government designed the disaster recovery payment to be a flexible assistance measure. When in government, Labor also adopted this approach by activating different criteria for different disasters. In fact, Labor used the same eligibility criteria that have been put in place on five occasions whilst they were in government. Labor incorrectly said that the coalition did not activate the payment for those whose homes were damaged or destroyed. This and other comments made by Labor on the issue have been misleading and should be condemned. Over the weekend following the initial fire emergency on Thursday, 17 October 2013, the Department of Human Services opened its service centres in Springwood, Katoomba, Raymond Terrace, Charlestown and Wyong. The department's mobile service centre was also operating throughout the Springwood area, including Winmalee—the epicentre of the devastation—less than 48 hours after the initial firestorm. Forty-six departmental staff directly assisted the emergency response on the ground and in the weeks following the initial fire emergency. In addition, 209 staff assisted with other services provided by the department, including, but not limited to, taking calls and providing technical support. The department has had a strong presence at the state recovery centre in Springwood and was on hand at the evacuation centres in Springwood and Lithgow in the immediate aftermath of the fires.

The Linksview fire destroyed 193 homes in Springwood, Winmalee and Yellow Rock. The Australian government activated disaster assistance measures on Friday, 18 October 2013—less than 24 hours after the greatest impact of the fire. The department is delivering three assistance schemes to those who were affected by the fire: the Australian government disaster recovery payment, the disaster recovery allowance and ex gratia payments equivalent to the Australian government disaster recovery payment and the disaster recovery allowance for certain New Zealand passport holders. The department's top priority during this disaster has been to deliver payments as quickly and as compassionately as possible to people in need. As at midnight, 5 December 2013, 764 claims for the Australian disaster recovery payment have been granted, with more than $850,000 paid into people's bank accounts. There have been 1,174 calls related to the Australian government disaster recovery payment and the disaster recovery allowance, which have been answered by the department. As at midnight, 5 December 2013, 44 claims for the disaster recovery allowance have been granted, with money paid into people's bank accounts on a fortnightly basis for up to 13 weeks. People have until April 2014 to lodge a claim.

The Australian government emergency information line operates weekdays from 8 am to 5 pm. For the first 11 days of the emergency response, the hotline was available from 8 am to 8 pm seven days a week. The department's processing teams are taking a compassionate approach to assessing claims, but, ultimately, people still need to meet the eligibility criteria determined by the Minister for Justice. Departmental social workers have been deployed in the affected areas to provide support to their customers, many of whom have suffered great loss in this disaster. I commend the Prime Minister, the Minister of Human Services, the Minister for Justice and the member for Macquarie for their compassionate work to those affected.

Debate adjourned.