Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to update the House on the bushfire situation in my electorate of O'Connor. There are currently four bushfires burning in various parts of my vast electorate. On Tuesday of this week an out of control fire led to the closure of a major interstate link road, the Hyden Norseman Rd. This fire is currently being attended by volunteer fire and rescue services from the Shires of Dundas and Norseman.

On the same day another fire raged out of control some six kilometres north of Highway 1, in the wheat belt Shire of Yilgarn. Currently, it is moving slowly in a north-westerly direction, not posing a threat to lives or property, but is still uncontained.

Yesterday, I was advised that the all-clear had been issued to my constituents affected by the Boddington fire, which has spilled over from the forest into the wheat and sheep farmland of the Shire of Williams. Local units, together with 54 fire fighters from volunteer bushfire brigades from as far afield as Esperance and Kalgoorlie, over 600 kilometres away, are in attendance, together with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services and Department of Parks and Wildlife. Over 52,000 hectares of land has been burnt. However, there have been minimal stock casualties and only minor losses to buildings and a bridge.

Meanwhile, the Northcliffe fire in the far south-west of my electorate has been slated as one of the biggest fires in Western Australian history. Started by a lightning strike in the dense Karri forest 12 days ago, it has burnt out of control, necessitating the evacuation of all Northcliffe residents to nearby Pemberton. This fire is currently classified as contained but not controlled, with forecasts that the mature Karri forests will continue to burn well into winter. Residents have recently been able to return to their homes in Northcliffe township, the coastal community of Windy Harbour and the surrounding farming properties. Last Thursday, when the fire was still at its full intensity, I visited the evacuation centre at the Pemberton sports centre, while over 250 firefighters waged a ground battle in the forest and there was a concerted aerial assault by water bombers and helicopter tankers. Several dairies, and many farms, sheds and dwellings, as well as the township of Northcliffe, were saved from certain devastation as the fire swept through over 95,000 hectares of forest and pasture, covering 330 kilometre perimeter. I was fortunate to be briefed by Incident Controller Greg Maires from the Department of Parks and Wildlife, who afforded me a tour of the incident headquarters in Pemberton and introduced me to the personnel who had been instrumental in coordinating the firefighting effort and planning for the recovery. There could be no greater example of cross-agency collaboration than to witness the incident controller from DPAW hand over to his two deputies from the Western Australian fire and emergency services and the Country Fire Authority Victoria.

I take this opportunity to applaud the combined efforts of all emergency services—ambulance, fire and police—together with support organisations including Telstra, Western Power, Water Corporation of WA, Main Roads Western Australia and the Department of Agriculture and Food for their roles in the immediate emergency. I also thank representatives from the various departments of Social Services, Health and Education for addressing the needs of displaced residents. I commend the entire community of Manjimup Shire for their fortitude and community spirit—in particular Shire President Wade DeCampo and CEO Andrew Campbell for their leadership during the crisis.

Last Thursday evening I met with the advance party of the Australian Army who were engaged in establishing a 200-bed tent city to house the 130 Victorian firefighters who had been commuting over 200 kilometres to the fire front each day. By Friday morning, 59 Army personnel had established a makeshift village for the exhausted firefighters, complete with recreational facilities. The federal government responded to requests for assistance by providing large volumes of aerially deployed fire retardant, with two 18,000 litre water bombers to deliver it, originating from the Richmond air base. The following day, WA Premier Colin Barnett declared the area a natural disaster, activating the joint Commonwealth-state natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements, paving the way for emergency financial assistance and longer-term funding for restoration of any last infrastructure. Since then my office has attended recovery meetings and is currently assisting with obtaining an extension of lodging deadlines with the ATO to support local businesses through this difficult time. I anticipate we will have a further role in assisting people to access disaster relief.

As this community prepares to rebuild, it is miraculous that there has been no loss of life, minimal damage to homes and only minor stock injuries. Infrastructure has been largely spared, though there remain some issues with water quality in Northcliffe and Windy Harbour, and power is in the process of being restored. The southern artery from the town, the South West Highway, is likely to remain closed for three to four weeks due to the ongoing risk of tree limbs falling as the forest smoulders. Again, I congratulate all personnel involved on their dedication and professionalism in rescuing these areas of my electorate from the torment and tragedy associated with the bushfire season.