Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Christmas is coming, and I wish everyone in Hasluck the best for the holiday season. However, in Australia that season is also the fire season, and I hope Hasluck residents are well-prepared. At my own home in Mundaring, we have been busy in every spare moment getting our place ready using the Department of Fire and Emergency checklist—cleaning gutters, cutting the grass, pruning shrubs so they are not dense, ensuring the gas cylinders are secured, chained and with the valve facing away from the property. We are testing our generators, our sprinkler systems and making sure our evacuation kit is up-to-date and immediately usable, with heavy duty protective clothing, hard hat protection, goggles and masks.

Ten years ago, my husband and I lost our home to bushfires, so it is a risk we do take seriously. We know how devastating bushfires are for communities. During the 2021 Wooroloo fires in Hasluck more than 11 million hectares were burnt, including the loss of 86 homes. Huge swathes of our important biodiversity habitat were destroyed, with significant loss of the cockatoo, possum, goanna and echidna populations. Hasluck residents will be glad to know that the Albanese government is supporting local communities to deliver on emergency preparedness and response projects ahead of the 2023-24 severe weather season that's expected around the country. I implore everybody to check the checklists and take action.