Page 118 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 12 February 2020
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
We know that natural disaster and emergencies are dynamic and unpredictable by nature and there is no such thing as a perfect response. While this season has seen exceptional service to the territory, neither the Commissioner of the ESA, the Chief Minister or I have been backward in saying that we will review, we will look at how we can do things better and we will improve.
Our territory indicated early a willingness to be involved in a potential royal commission, and we have continued to engage constructively with the commonwealth on this. While we have not yet reached the end of the bushfire season, initial work has begun on how we performed this season, and this will naturally accelerate once we are safely at the season’s end. Having said this, the ESA has been listening to community feedback over our long summer and has responded to their concerns and made changes.
As minister I have kept our Assembly updated about our preparedness, about the lessons we have learnt and the improvements that we have made. The continuous focus of the ESA and everyone involved in bushfire and emergency preparedness ensured that Canberra was better prepared than ever before.
Perhaps our approach can be summarised by the remarks of Mr Parton on 29 January this year, speaking ahead of the state of emergency being declared. He told Sky News:
… we are much more prepared. We learnt so much out of 2003. I tell you who’s absolutely nailing it is Georgeina Whelan; just doing a sensational job under enormous pressure but really showing the way for the ACT. I have got great hope that we will get through this next week relatively unscathed, but it won’t be by chance.
Yesterday I outlined the difficult conditions that we faced, including the challenges brought about by climate change. I encourage everyone to reflect on my remarks, including the extensive resources we have provided over the years and the lessons from 2003 that have been implemented.
I want to focus today on the efforts that were made before the commencement of the bushfire season. The environment division within the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate also comprises our parks and conservation service. They undertook significant work to prepare for the current fire season, including prescribed burning, grazing and slashing of vegetation to reduce fuel loads, providing and maintaining fire access trails, and ensuring our people were trained and equipped to respond. It is this work that has aided our response. But let me be clear: the advice I have is that no amount of preparedness would have mitigated the fires, given the extreme dryness, high temperatures and low humidity. These conditions and the fire behaviour are unprecedented.
Having said this, as an experienced government we constantly review our approach to bushfire preparedness based on the changing climate. We trust the experts, ensuring prescribed burns are appropriate and evidence based. This helps our community to keep safe.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video