Page 3391 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 18 September 2013
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
programs that NICTA continues to promote, but he failed to explain how many of these programs his party will slash. I urge all members to support this motion.
Motion agreed to.
Bushfires—preparedness
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (4.49): I move:
That this Assembly:
(1) notes:
(a) section 72(3) of the Emergencies Act 2004 requires the minister must make a Strategic Bushfire Management Plan for the ACT after considering a draft plan from the Commissioner;
(b) section 74(2)(k) of the Emergencies Act 2004 states that the plan must have “a statement of resources needed to meet the objectives of the plan”;
(c) Recommendation 2 (Chapter 3) in the Auditor-General’s Bushfire Preparedness Report No. 5 /2013, identified the government’s failure to comply with the Emergencies Act 2004 to explicitly state all resources to meet the objectives of the Strategic Bushfire Management Plan;
(d) the Justice and Community Safety Directorate’s agreement to Recommendation 2 (Chapter 3) of the Bushfire Preparedness report;
(e) the minister’s reaffirmation on 8 August 2013 regarding Recommendation 2 (Chapter 3) of the Bushfire Preparedness report that the “government will not be releasing these papers”; and
(f) the government’s repeated refusal to disclose the territory’s requirement and capability for bushfire management—citing that such information is “not considered appropriate for public release”—in direct contradiction to the Emergencies Act 2004; and
(2) calls on the government to release and make explicit all resources needed to meet the objectives of the Strategic Bushfire Management Plan as per the Emergencies Act 2004 by the last sitting day of November 2013.
This is a very simple motion. This motion looks at the requirements of the Emergencies Act 2004 and how they have been implemented by this minister.
It is a very important motion, and I do not think any of us who saw the footage last week of the fires that sprung up so quickly in Sydney and saw the way that they moved and the devastation that they caused would not be concerned about the coming fire season. In fact, the announcement is that we can expect worse than average conditions in south-eastern Australia. That should put everyone on alert that the fire season is now just days away, and if you have not prepared your home and cleared all the debris and done the things that you should do around your house, then you should be doing it this weekend.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video