Andrew Wilkie (Denison, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, as you acknowledged yesterday, the devastating Tasmanian bushfires are taking a dreadful toll on the community and environment, particularly in the World Heritage area. Indeed, the Tasmanian government is concerned that the national disaster relief and recovery arrangements will not cover all of the costs, which led Premier Will Hodgman to write to you, on 25 January, requesting that the government make an extra contribution outside of the normal arrangements. Prime Minister, do you agree to the Tasmanian Premier's request, and what other assistance will the federal government provide to Tasmania to help deal with the damage bill from these terrible fires?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question on a matter that I know is of extreme importance to his community and communities all across Tasmania. I was able to be with Premier Hodgman down in the Huon Valley. We met with emergency workers and firefighters, and with those in the response centres and evacuation centres. On 6 February I wrote to him and told him that our thoughts were with those communities impacted by the recent fires and commended the efforts of the firefighting response.

As you know, Mr Speaker, we've had around 1,500 firefighters rotating throughout Tasmania over this period of time, particularly in those deep wilderness areas. The specialist firefighting support that has come out of New Zealand has been astonishing and fantastic, and I want to thank, in particular, Prime Minister Ardern and the New Zealand government for their support.

Assistance, including to cover certain firefighting costs, has already been provided under the jointly funded Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements in the local government areas of the Central Highlands, Derwent Valley, Huon Valley and West Coast. Assistance under the DRFA may also be extended in exceptional circumstances to cover the costs of protecting cultural and environmental assets, similar to that provided during the January 2016 Tasmanian bushfire recovery response.

Our government stands ready to assist Tasmania with any assistance that may be required in relation to any ongoing bushfires. In this context, I've offered Premier Hodgman the assistance of an Emergency Management Australia recovery liaison officer to help them prepare their request for additional recovery assistance—in other words, working with them to work out what the ask is so that we can then seek to meet that ask. I have committed to fast-track any request for assistance as a matter of priority to aid the recovery of Tasmanian communities.

I will also say this: with the significant fires that have ravaged Tasmania, it's important for Australians to know that places like, for example, the Walls of Jerusalem and Cradle Mountain—all of these incredible natural assets—have been untouched by those fires. As was said by a member from the opposition yesterday, the best way you can help Tasmania is to go to Tasmania. It is beautiful. The people are just as friendly, the coffee is just as good, and the food is just as fantastic. There are large areas of Tasmania that have not been affected by those fires, and I would very much encourage Australians to take the opportunity to go there.

I've also spoken directly to the Premier about what will be needed to support the recovery of the tourism sector operators in the affected areas. I met with some of them with the Premier when I was there recently. We're working together through our offices to work up a plan with the Tasmanian government about how we can provide that support. But that is a plan that will have to come from the ground up, and I would invite the member to be very much a part of that.