Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator Sheldon. I'll start by acknowledging the work of Senator McCarthy, the member for Lingiari and the member for Solomon in their strong interest and advocacy for their communities. They have been in regular contact with me and my office to ensure that their communities are supported through this time. I also acknowledge the interest and efforts of Senator Chisholm in working with that local community in his assistant minister role.

As members may be aware, a large fire of over 1.3 million hectares, is currently burning in the Barkly Tableland in the Northern Territory, east of Tennant Creek. The Territory government has issued an emergency situation, which grants the police, fire and emergency services to fight a fire and manage evacuations if the need arises. I understand that conditions are currently relatively stable, but we do need to keep an eye on them. Two strike teams from South Australia have arrived to assist, and we have deployed Australian Defence Force resources to support the protection of critical infrastructure and establish containment lines. We will keep working closely with the Northern Territory government on this.