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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 5 Hansard (7 May) . . Page.. 1194 ..

MR WOOD (continuing):

The unique bush capital image of Canberra is made up of numerous islands of wildlife habitat in the form of our Canberra nature park reserves, surrounded by roads or urban infrastructure. When all or most of one of these island reserves is burned by a deliberately lit fire, as occurred on Bruce Ridge and Red Hill reserves last year, it can have disastrous results on native wildlife, as there are no areas of unburned refuge left for native animals.

Some animals have to be destroyed due to the extent of their burns. In order to survive a fire, animals face the dangerous task of crossing busy arterial roads to seek new habitats in adjacent areas. Following the Christmas bushfire period last year, rangers responded to almost 200 reports of wildlife killed or stranded on our roads, largely due to the fires in Stromlo pine forest, on Red Hill and on Bruce Ridge.

Further, the cost to the ACT community of the impact of deliberately lit fires is significant. Vegetation, asset damage and property loss occurred in all areas, including 500 hectares of forest plantation, urban amenity trees and shrubs. Native woodland, combined with a high fire intensity, resulted in considerable loss of mature and immature trees. More than $2 million of commercial pine plantation was destroyed by the deliberately lit fires at Christmas time. The loss of these plantations will have an impact on the ability of ACT forests to supply timber to the ACT forest industry into the future and therefore has a significant potential to impact on jobs in the region.

We can all now see the impact of the Stromlo fire with the clearing of the burnt forest ready for replanting. The loss of these trees also has an impact on the quality of forest recreation opportunities in this area.

Mature native trees in all burnt areas had to be felled for safety reasons. Vegetation lost in the urban area and along roads resulted in 90 per cent of burnt plants being removed. Reserve fencing, horse holding paddocks, road infrastructure, including signs, and ActewAGL assets were also damaged. The total cost of the damage of those Christmas fires is estimated to be in excess of $4.5 million, not including the considerable cost of the firefighting services that were employed.

This is money that could have been used for other government services. Priceless community assets such as trees used by Aboriginal people in pre-European times were also destroyed. The cost of undertaking additional weed control in the Bruce Ridge and Red Hill reserves due to those fires will be more than $50,000. At least three local farmers suffered significant pastoral losses that affected their ability to earn a living from their properties.

Deliberately lit fires placed firefighters at risk. While the cost of fighting such fires is significant, imagine the impact on the territory if some firefighters had lost their lives in fighting those deliberately lit fires. That has occurred in other places. We must do everything we can to ensure there are strong deterrents to those irresponsible members of the community who deliberately light fires.

Ninety-five people from ACT Forests, Canberra Urban Parks and Places and Environment ACT-areas within my portfolio-and a lot more from elsewhere worked with the ACT Bushfire and Emergency Services Bureau and their volunteers successfully to bring the Christmas bushfires under control. They were instrumental in ensuring that

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