James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Ash Wednesday bushfires, which struck across my home state of South Australia and, of course, in Victoria, on this day 40 years ago—Ash Wednesday, 16 February 1983. There were 75 lives lost across the nation from various fires. In my home state of South Australia, 28 people, tragically, perished—14 of those in the Adelaide Hills in the member for Mayo's electorate, adjacent to my electorate of Sturt. Three of those fatalities in South Australia were very brave members of the Country Fire Service, who of course put themselves proactively in harm's way to protect our communities.

Forty years later, the scars of Ash Wednesday are still very real in South Australia. In my electorate of Sturt, which incorporates the Hills Face Zone of the Adelaide Hills, where very significant blazes burnt that day, you can still see remnants of the destruction that occurred. It's a very emotional day today in South Australia. Many people still have stories of their own experiences of that day, and/or those of loved ones. Across the nation, more than half a million hectares were burnt and 3,700 buildings, with 2,400 of those being people's homes. Nationally, as I said, the death toll was 75 lives.

This anniversary is an opportunity, not just to commemorate and remember but also to commit ourselves to the ongoing vigilance we need when it comes to bushfire preparedness across the nation. There's not a corner of continental Australia where the risk of bushfire doesn't exist in some way. We understand it as being a part of life in this country, but we also know that the risk and damage of bushfire can be mitigated if we take sensible precautions as a community and ensure that we're investing in the sorts of resources that the brave people who fight these fires need. I'll take this opportunity on the 40th anniversary to recommit myself, as a leader in my community—particularly for the Hills Face suburbs in my electorate of Sturt—to ensure that awareness is higher than ever of the need for proper bushfire preparedness plans. Everyone in a high-risk suburb needs to have a plan. They need to know what they need to do to put in place fuel-reduction strategies and, obviously, other mitigation efforts which can assist to reduce the risk to their properties and families. They also have to include a plan for evacuation in the worst case. Some of the lessons, not just from Ash Wednesday but from other bushfires, are how vital that is—the difference made for people who have a plan, so that if and when the threat reaches a trigger point they're ready to prioritise their safety and that of their families first and foremost.

As we commemorate that day, 40 years ago today—a mere five weeks before I was born—we remember those who, sadly, perished; the destruction of livestock and property; and of course the half a million hectares of land burnt across the nation. We thank the heroes in our communities who fight these fires, many of whom are volunteers. We thank them for their service—not just for what they do when fire strikes, but also for what they do to prepare our communities and to mitigate the risk of fire right throughout each and every year. We commit ourselves to ensuring in this beautiful country, Australia, where the risk of bushfire is ever-present, that we as communities and families are always prepared to protect our property to the best of our capacity, and, most importantly, we have a plan to protect ourselves and our loved ones by making sure we've got a plan for whenever bushfires may strike in our communities.