Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Emergency Management, Senator McAllister. Fires have been burning in the Takayna/Tarkine wilderness for 10 days now. Fire boundary maps published by the Tasmanian government show that the grove of Huon pines on the upper Harman River burned last night. This grove contained the largest known Huon pine on the planet—a tree that was estimated to be 3,000 years old, making it one of the oldest trees in existence. It's now in ashes, which is devastating.

The same fire is now threatening two other significant groves of Huon pines on the Wilson River. These are ancient paleoendemic ecosystems that exist nowhere else on the planet. Why wasn't more effort put in to extinguish these fires in their early stages, 10 days ago now, and what is your government doing to ensure that the protection of these globally significant ecosystems is given the priority it deserves?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Emergency Management) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks for the question. Senator McKim, you are a former parliamentarian in the Tasmanian parliament and you know that firefighting is the responsibility of state and territory governments. I have been in regular contact with Minister Ellis, who is the minister responsible for emergency management in Tasmania. We've spoken about the challenges facing first responders in your part of the world.

One of the things that is distinctive about fighting fires in the Tasmanian context is that there are a lot of wild places and there are a lot of amazing communities too. Our government seeks to be the best partner that we can be to the Tasmanian government as they seek to gain control of this particular set of events. We have deployed the national large air tanker to Tasmania to assist in firefighting efforts. We have also deployed one of the heavy-lift helicopters to assist Tasmania in its firefighting effort.

I will make an additional point, Senator McKim. This is the first high-risk weather season where those assets have been available at all. The reason that they're available is because our government came to office understanding that more would need to be done to deal with emergencies and to deal with natural disasters. That is because all of the advice that we have from scientists is that natural disasters are going to become more frequent and more intense. Now, our government accepts that science; it's not clear to me that the people opposite us do. But it is on that basis and on the experience of communities across Australia that we have made the investments that we have, by increasing funding in the national aerial fleet, increasing funding for a national stockpile and standing up a National Emergency Management Agency that can support states and territories at times like these.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McKim, first supplementary?

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Acknowledging other priorities and the importance of safety for fire responders, will you commit to continuing to stay in touch with the Tasmanian government to ensure that saving these globally unique and ancient ecosystems, which are at the core of Tasmania's Gondwanan heritage, is given the priority that it deserves?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Emergency Management) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator McKim. Your question is apposite because, actually, this is an enterprise that rewards collaboration. I do work to stay in touch with my state and territory colleagues because, as I indicated in my response to your primary question, they do lead on these questions. They do lead on the response, but we are in a position to provide support. What that requires is me working with each of those ministerial counterparts to understand the circumstances that they are facing. I can tell you also that the National Emergency Management Agency, a new body established under our government, maintains very regular if not daily contact with fire chiefs, commissioners and other personnel in the emergency management system around the country. Indeed, as we speak, we are of course actively engaged in the circumstances continuing in Queensland—the recovery there—and in monitoring the cyclone which is forming off the north-west coast of Western Australia.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McKim, second supplementary?

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, nine years ago now, the Greens led a Senate inquiry into the 2016 fires that devastated the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, and we made a series of recommendations on how to respond better to fires like the ones we are seeing now, including by hitting them hard and hitting them early. Why have successive federal governments, including yours, ignored many of the recommendations we made?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Emergency Management) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I dispute the premise of the senator's question. This government has in fact made very significant investments to improve the Australian government's capacity to support states and territories not just in relation to our response to natural disasters but also to improve the resilience of communities around Australia. Your question referred to the benefits of moving early once an ignition has been detected, and I know, from speaking to fire chiefs around the country, that these principles are embedded in many of the ways that fire chiefs are responding to some of these very difficult circumstances. We also—I acknowledge Minister Watt here—have established the Disaster Ready Fund. This fund—a $1 billion fund—has already had two rounds where we are making investments in a range of measures that can support resilience, including investments in early detection technologies.