Page 2905 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 12 October 2022
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4,400 hectares of grass slashing when and where required. These are strategic implementations.
A significant number of these activities were completed in the 2021-22 time line, representing 90 per cent of the total planned Bushfire Operations Plan activities, which is an outstanding result, given the difficulties to on-ground work implementation posed by COVID-19.
The ESA continues to increase community awareness through the Be Emergency Ready campaign initiative. As a result of the campaign in 2021-22, there were more than 37,000 visits to the Be Emergency Ready page on the ESA website. Some 4,000 emergency survival plans, fact sheets and other emergency preparedness material was downloaded from the ESA website. The 2022-23 community engagement campaign is building on this success to further support the community’s awareness and understanding of preparedness actions.
The ESA continues to maintain strong cross-border relationships with its operational counterparts, as well as the services available nationally through the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council. The ESA has relationships across a variety of government levels, allowing emergency coordination not just across the ACT-New South Wales border but also to be enhanced between the ACT and Australian governments.
ACT Rural Fire Service members have worked with members from New South Wales Rural Fire Service Southern Tablelands to further strengthen working relationships and to develop a better understanding of operational command, control and communications. ACT Rural Fire Service has been heavily involved in the national level, as well as locally with surrounding New South Wales areas, to implement the Australian Fire Danger Rating System.
The new national system went live on 1 September 2022, providing increased community awareness of fire risk that is nationally consistent. ACT RFS has also worked collaboratively with surrounding New South Wales districts, providing valuable input towards the drafting of their new bushfire risk management plans, recognising threats that may originate from the ACT or cross over from the ACT to New South Wales.
The government will continue to make the investments needed to help keep Canberrans safe as our city grows. Our city is better prepared than ever before as a result of the hard work of our volunteers and staff across government, and I encourage the community to prepare as well. Together, we can all play our part in keeping Canberra safe during the 2022-23 high-risk weather season.
I present the paper to the Assembly:
ACT High-risk Weather Season Preparedness and Seasonal Outlook 2022-23—Ministerial statement, 12 October 2022.
I move:
That the Assembly take note of the paper.
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