Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the request of Senators Ayres and Watt, I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC has predicted above normal fire potential across New South Wales and Western Australia throughout December 2020 to February 2021,

(ii) on 17 March 2019, in the lead up to the 2019 Federal election, the Federal Opposition announced a policy to establish a sovereign aerial firefighting fleet, noting that Australia was reliant on overseas aerial firefighting capabilities,

(iii) on 30 October 2020, the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements recommended that the Australian Government establish a sovereign aerial firefighting fleet, noting that 'the increasing duration of fire seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres, and the increasing duration and severity of fire seasons in Australia, will make it increasingly difficult to share aircraft domestically, and to acquire aviation services when we need them', and

(iv) on 13 November 2020, the Australian Government noted but did not support the Royal Commission's recommendation, stating that the Government was 'comfortable' with the current aerial firefighting arrangements; and

(b) calls on the Australian Government to support the Royal Commission's recommendation to establish a sovereign aerial firefighting fleet and develop Australia's aerial capability, to ensure that Australians will be protected in future bushfire seasons.