Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Why does the Prime Minister claim he always acted on the advice of fire commissioners when he ignored, for two years, their advice to provide a permanent boost to Australia's aerial firefighting capability?

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

I thank the member for her question, and can I, through her, pass on, again, my sincere condolences and sympathies and support to all of the members in her electorate. I have members of my own family who live in your electorate, and I want to thank you for the work you have done, as all members have done over the course of this bushfire season in supporting their local communities. I'd be grateful if you could do that, if you have the opportunity.

The member has raised the matter of the recommendations that were made, through fire chiefs, regarding the aerial firefighting assets. What the government did was respond to that with two separate tranches of funding which matched what they originally asked for. I dealt with this matter during the course of the bushfire season; but, in addition to those two funding allocations of $11 million, on top of that we announced a further $20 million. That was over and above the $15 million that was being provided each and every year as part of the arrangement that we had. We were pleased to do that. I also noted that the ongoing funding, which was being sought, would be addressed in this year's budget.