Page 175 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 15 February 2006
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management plan, prepare bushfire operational plans for each vulnerable suburb and introduce a policy in respect of grazing.
MR SPEAKER: Order! The member’s time has expired.
MR HARGREAVES (Brindabella—Minister for Disability, Housing and Community Services, Minister for Urban Services and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (5.48): Mr Speaker, I seek leave to move the two amendments circulated in my name together.
Leave granted.
MR HARGREAVES: I move:
(1) paragraph 1 (b), omit all words after “the Government’s preparations against bushfire threat”, substitute “have left us better prepared for bushfires than we have ever been; and”;
(2) insert new paragraph 1 (c):
“(c) that the Stanhope Government has invested an additional $130.775m over five years in emergency services since the January 2003 bushfires;”; and
(3) omit paragraph (2).
I will speak to the amendments and the substantive motion all in one hit and see if we cannot knock the motion over tonight. I have moved amendments to Mr Pratt’s motion to put a stop to his scaremongering on this issue. I know I should not be surprised at the extent to which he will go to gain political relevance but Mr Pratt’s propensity to use the people of Canberra as pawns in his game is disturbing.
That said, I would like to support the first part of Mr Pratt’s motion in acknowledging the fast response to the Yarralumla fire by our emergency services workers and the police. I am more than willing to draw attention to the fantastic work that is done on a regular basis by our dedicated professionals and volunteers and I am happy to see on this occasion Mr Pratt supporting them rather than criticising them. However, I am afraid this is where the agreement with Mr Pratt ends.
What we see here in this motion is Ms Pratt, with no expertise or experience in these areas, trying to raise fear in our community. As you are aware, Mr Speaker, the Stanhope government has provided a greater level of coordinated preparedness against bushfires in the ACT than has ever existed previously. Under the strategic bushfire management plan a comprehensive range of strategies have been developed to manage bushfire fuel levels across all tenures and better prepare both the community and the emergency services.
Unlike Mr Pratt’s approach, a researched, scientific approach to the principles of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery is embedded in the bushfire management framework. The ACT government has translated these strategies into action through clear outcomes on the ground. Prevention activities such as fuel management and fire trail works are targeted to effectively address pre-identified bushfire risk in
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