Page 228 - Week 01 - Thursday, 10 February 2022

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appropriate to do so, and otherwise making the hearings family-friendly and held virtually where applicable;

(b) consider whether to publish a discussion paper by 29 April 2022 and whether to provide an interim report before 9 June 2022; and

I am certainly pleased to bring this motion to the Assembly today for debate. I do so on behalf of the many residents that have been affected by the recent storms in the Belconnen area. Storms are a regular occurrence in the ACT. The Bureau of Meteorology has recorded 26 severe storms and weather events in the last 10 years. These storms have included significant rainfall, causing flooding, and hail, causing major damage. Strong winds with gusts of up to 90 kilometres per hour are not uncommon, leaving a trail of debris, such as the recent storms that hit areas of Belconnen.

The ESA website tells me that the storm season in the ACT runs from September to February each year. So this summer, not unlike others that have gone before us, storms were to be expected, including the January thunderstorm which caused a significant amount of damage to many homes and streetscapes in the Belconnen area. What is important to note is that, when they happen and damage occurs, they cause social, emotional and financial cost to those that are most affected.

The storm on 3 January left many Canberrans without power, some for up to a week. There was significant damage, with trees down, debris scattered across the streets and damage reported to housing. The SES said that they responded to 1,023 jobs, with their initial responses not completed until 8 January. Let me clarify that this is not about the SES response. The SES volunteers, who form the majority of the workforce, do a fantastic job. Figures from the recent Report on Government Services showed that there are nine full-time equivalent operational staff and 388 volunteers. These dedicated men and women take on the amazing role of first responders to many of these emergencies.

We cannot ignore that being left without power, especially if you are a vulnerable person or a family with small children—and I have heard that many families were confined to their homes because of COVID restrictions—is an emotionally draining experience. The fact of not being able to go anywhere, having no power and not being able to communicate because you cannot charge your phone can be a very socially isolating experience; and imagine then to have to face the financial cost of a clean-up because your government has failed in its response and has done nothing to help.

The SES responded to and completed more than 1,000 jobs. However, some areas of Belconnen were without power for up to six days, waiting for Evoenergy, the government’s own energy company, to fix the issues. On 9 January 45 homes were still without power, six days after the event. It has been more than a month and the storm debris clean-up is still ongoing. In most places it has been up to local community members to remove fallen trees and tree limbs, leaf litter and other debris from other people’s gardens and, in some instances, rubbish left behind by the

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