Page 1611 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 10 May 2017
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This is the heart of the concerns raised last year and which have been continually raised with me since last year’s election. Grass fires move really fast. If it takes two hours to set up an IMT and a Fire & Rescue unit is attending to a fire and if they are not the appropriate unit to fight the fire as it approaches the suburbs, we have a problem at present with our regulations. The situation could be exacerbated if it is determined that an IMT is required, and I am concerned that valuable time fighting the fire could also be lost in that process. ACT Fire & Rescue has legislative responsibility for fires in the built-up area and for the rural area that is the Rural Fire Service, as it should be. A question arises when a fire comes close to the built-up area in our bushfire abatement zone. The direction of the wind can change. It is possible, therefore, that there is too much ambiguity in those changes, and I am concerned that there is.
In addition to these concerns, there is significant ambiguity in the procedures around the development of the new suburbs in the BAZ. It is currently unclear what planning or action is taking place in preparation for the new suburbs in Molonglo and Belconnen as the ACT expands west and what this all means in relation to moving the boundaries of the BAZ.
Given the volatility of bushland during fire events to the west of the ACT, it is particularly concerning that there does not seem to be a clear plan for managing the bushfire-prone areas into which the new suburbs are forging. I note notifiable instruments 2007-144 and 2007-145—these were effective as of last month—extend the bushfire abatement zone and the built-up area so the built-up area is now in the bushfire abatement zone.
It is still not clear who is in control when operations are underway for fires approaching the built-up area and it plays out in an emergency situation, an issue raised by both Ron McLeod and Coroner Doogan. We are now in 2017 and it is timely for us to review whether the status quo is the best we can do for preparing and protecting the ACT. I am concerned that the lessons of 2003, as they relate to the city or the built-up areas, have been lost. We need clear plans for a major fire incident, including restoring the bushfire abatement zone to its original intent.
I call on the minister to report to the Assembly on: one, the rationale of the 2011 changes and to explain for the benefit of the community how the BAZ is now controlled with regard to fuel reduction burning, but also when a fire is heading towards the suburban fringe; two, what planning or action is undertaken for when the built-up areas encroach into New South Wales and across the border; and three, whether it is appropriate to return the management of the bushfires within the BAZ to the method recommended in the McLeod report. I commend the motion to the Assembly.
MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella—Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Minister for Planning and Land Management and Minister for Urban Renewal) (5.40): I thank Mrs Jones for her important motion today. I understand the passion that she has in this regard and the
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