Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Senator Di Natale. It's great to have you back with us. As you will have noticed, during this whole week the parliament has been moved by Australians who are suffering through the most catastrophic bushfire event that our nation has seen. We know that Australians have lost their lives and that hundreds of Australians are without a home, having lost all their worldly belongings—their family photo albums et cetera. As I said in this place earlier on in this week, and as others have said—Senator Wong and Senator Cormann—now is not the time to be debating policy. We need to be very careful, as leaders in our community, about politicising what is one of the most catastrophic bushfire seasons in living memory. Fires are caused by a variety of factors—climate change; drought, which makes the fuel load drier and more combustible; and fuel management. We know, when we're looking after our natural resources, whether they be our state or national parks, that our state and territory governments have to get those practices right. Scientists and firefighters have made it clear that these are the areas that we need to address as a community so that we can address the severe impacts and the risks that they provide to our broader Australian community, now and into the future.