Page 3107 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 20 September 1994
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Madam Speaker, the ACT has just experienced its fourth driest winter on record. A special program of hazard reduction for this year has been put together; burning off and mowing have already commenced and will continue as long as possible, to provide better protection, particularly between parkland and the edge of the city. This is a comprehensive program which includes activities such as the burning of accumulated grass, which is not undertaken during normal years. The ACT Bushfire Council has issued useful information for householders in the form of a fridge magnet and a leaflet entitled, "Prepare Your Home for Bushfires This Summer". These will be on display and available from major shopping centres during Fire Awareness Week from 9 to 15 October. They include such advice as to recommend to householders that they clear dry timber, vegetation and rubbish well away from the house; keep grass around the home short and green; clear undergrowth from fences; and clear gutters of leaves, bark and twigs. Bushfire brigades alone, Madam Speaker, cannot provide complete protection for all community and individual assets in all circumstances.
It is essential to understand that the success of these programs, in terms of protection of lives and property from grassfire and bushfire, demands cooperative community effort. Given the experience over the last bushfire season, I think it can be placed on record quite unequivocally that we do have an exemplary service in the ACT that has, I think, wide support, wide cross-party support, because of the activities they undertake. It is of particular concern to me as the responsible Minister that we, at an early stage this year, draw the attention of the public to this issue because of the severity, as far as all projections are concerned, of bushfire danger over this summer and alert the wider community that there are ways that they can also reduce the hazard and the hazardous material that occurs naturally in this beautiful garden city. Madam Speaker, officers of Emergency Services, the ACT Bushfire Council's constituent parts, the Rural Firefighting Service and the ACT Fire Brigade, as I have said, are available to provide information to householders for specific circumstances or, in fact, to commercial property lessees. I would encourage the widest possible dissemination of the information here and, in fact, would call upon the media representatives who listen avidly to the answers, and the questions asked in this place, for their cooperation in highlighting the availability of the information contained in these brochures and booklets in order to reduce potential difficulties over this summer.
Tuggeranong Homestead - Capital Works
MR KAINE: Madam Speaker, through you, I have a question to Mr Wood in his capacity as having responsibility for land management. Mr Wood, in this year's capital works program, under program 9, there were three different provisions in connection with the Tuggeranong Homestead. First of all, there is a carryover from last year of $756,000 for infrastructure stage 1, which was not spent last year and has been brought forward into this present year. Then there is a new provision of $2.714m for estate servicing. In addition, there is a small amount of $42,000 under the heading "Forward Design" relating to the forward design of infrastructure stage 2 at Richardson. Can you tell me in fairly specific terms what each of these three provisions is intended to cover? Secondly, has any work been done at Tuggeranong yet, given an approximately $3.5m total appropriation for the homestead? If so, what? Finally, what are the expected completion dates of the infrastructure works for stages 1 and 2?
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