Page 4120 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 16 Sept 2009
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In conclusion, the Greens are not supporting this bill today. We acknowledge that it was an extremely worthwhile and responsible initiative that Mr Smyth brought forward, but it has now been addressed to a very great extent through a uniform national system, and where a uniform national system is open for something as important as bushfire warnings it deserves to be fully adopted and supported.
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (6.26), in reply: I have to express my disappointment at the lack of understanding of what it is that I seek to do here today. When I tabled this bill a month ago, it was in the vacuum of the failure of the states, the territories and the federal government to have a system in place for the start of this fire season. The work that I did is almost identical to the work that was announced last week.
In fact, the amendments circulated to Mr Corbell’s and Mr Rattenbury’s offices yesterday and to this place this morning show that, by omitting two words and adding four words, what I would propose is exactly what AFAT came up with and the states have endorsed, except for one thing. What I am proposing is that the warnings that are set out are based on 52 years of scientific knowledge to ensure that people know the true situation of what is going on in their area.
I want to go back to 2003 and February this year. In 2003, the big complaint was: we were not warned. In February 2009, in Victoria, people were saying to us as we were assisting the Victorian community, “Why weren’t we warned? Why didn’t we learn from what had happened in Canberra?”
I want to go back to what actually happened in Canberra on that day. The minutes of the 2003 Bushfire Operations Committee from 17 January 2003 at 1800 hours, the planning meeting—so 6 o’clock on the Friday night—said, “Saturday; the fire danger rating for highland is 62,” which in the new scale would be a severe warning. In the old scale, it would have been extreme. The forecast goes on to say, “There is the potential for fire to reach Uriarra by midday tomorrow, the Cotter Pub and Reserve at 1600, and Mount Stromlo and potentially Narrabundah Hill by 2000 hours.”
That is the information that the government of the day had, did not disseminate and did not warn anybody about. They knew the fire was coming. They knew the fire danger rating. And when did we issue a warning? According to Mr McLeod, the warning was issued the next day at 1.45. ESB released the first standard emergency warning signal fax at 1.45 pm. Inexplicably, ABC radio in Canberra did not receive the fax until 2.31 pm. They had the knowledge—let us see, 6 add 12 is 18—19½ hours before they sent it out.
That is all I seek to avoid by making the system automatic. That is all I am seeking to avoid. The warnings will be the same warnings now decided upon by AFAT. I might have used different words; I am not going to stand on the words. All I seek to do now is ensure that the mechanism we have put in place is actually used. I am not making, as is asserted by those opposite, the ACT an island in New South Wales. What I am doing is making it organised. What I am doing is making it efficient. What I am doing is making it automatic.
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