Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 1 Hansard (30 January) . . Page.. 6 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

Their efforts are ongoing, as they quickly and efficiently establish support systems and offer assistance to those affected by the fires. The staff of Canberra Connect, in particular, have done a superb job as the first point of contact for Canberrans looking for the latest information about fires or wanting to access government services.

Lessons will certainly be learnt from this tragedy. A coronial inquest has already begun. We need to look at what we can do better in terms of fire protection, but it is important that we strike a balance to ensure that we retain what makes Canberra unique. Over the last week or so, there has been a great deal of criticism of the planning of Canberra, even going back as far as Walter Burley Griffin. But by criticising our city, these people do not realise that they are criticising all Canberrans.

We in Canberra love our city and its open spaces, with the bush around us. Canberra is the bush capital because that is what the people of the city wanted it to be. Canberra is a beautiful city with an unrivalled standard of living, and we owe a lot of that to the bushland we are nestled in.

Our love of Canberra is summed up well by the Lonely Planet guidebook, which says:

I can think of no better description of the unique mix of country and city than we have here in Canberra.

But we will, of course, learn from the tragedy. We will look for better ways to strike a balance between living among nature and guarding against the danger of bushfires. We will all need to ensure that we have an appropriate and reasonable level of safety for homes adjacent to bushland areas.

As I said, a coronial inquest has commenced. The ACT coroner, magistrate Maria Doogan, has already met with investigators from the Australian Federal Police to begin setting the direction for the inquest. The parameters of the investigation will be very broad and will include the circumstances surrounding the tragic deaths that occurred. The inquest will also look at the ACT's emergency management and response arrangements and make any recommendations in this area that it feels necessary.

I will also be announcing in the next week or two details of a major review of the Emergency Services Bureau's response to the fire. The review will be chaired by a senior and experienced external appointee.

But let it never be said that our firefighters, emergency workers and those in command gave anything less than their absolute best. Let it never be said that they did anything less than all they could. And let it never once be suggested that they did anything less than a tremendous job under extremely difficult circumstances. I utterly reject any suggestions to the contrary.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .