Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As summer approaches, I take this opportunity to remind the residents of Menzies, especially those in the eastern part of my electorate in suburbs such as Warrandyte and Wonga Park, of potential bushfire dangers. Significant areas of the electorate are bushland settings and are, indeed, semi rural. These areas have been endangered before, in particular, in the disastrous 1983 Ash Wednesday fires. I recall those 1983 fires vividly. As a young lawyer at the time, I was part of a group which provided emergency legal advice to victims in the weeks after the devastation.

The reality is that significant parts of Greater Melbourne are bushfire prone. We have had just this week the first total fire ban for the summer season. Accordingly, I would like to remind my constituents in particular but Australians more generally to be prepared for the coming summer. Having had a wet spring, particularly in the southern parts of Australia, there is significant undergrowth, which of course is the fuel for bushfires. Hence, I urge constituents in bushfire areas to prepare a bushfire survival plan, to clean up unnecessary and dangerous growth and to consider how to defend their property and, if necessary, if and when to leave it. We are well served by the CFA volunteers in Victoria. Their website www.cfa.vic.gov contains excellent resources.