Question Time

NATURAL DISASTER RESILIENCE PROGRAM

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (15:21): My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services. Can the minister inform the house about how the state and federal governments are working with communities to increase South Australia's resilience to natural disasters?

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (15:21): I thank the member for Little Para for his question. I am pleased to say that today my federal colleague and I, Robert McClelland, are announcing that South Australia will benefit from more than $2.85 million in funding to improve preparedness for natural disasters here in South Australia. When factoring in the contributions from councils and other community organisations, a total of $4.7 million will be spent to bolster our resilience.

It is vital that state and federal governments, local councils, emergency services, communities and individuals support one another and work together to reduce the potentially devastating impacts of natural disasters. Since 2009, the Natural Disaster Resilience Program has provided $8.625 million in funding to local organisations for 136 projects. Forty-nine projects will share in this latest funding round. Eighteen of the projects will have a focus on bushfire preparedness, while another 31 initiatives will focus on preparations for other natural disasters as well as volunteer support projects.

For example, the Eyre Peninsula Local Government Association will receive $130,000 to develop emergency management plans across the region. The Australian Red Cross will get $26,000 for regional volunteer training to enhance volunteer recruitment and training. There will be $128,000 for the Renmark Paringa council to assist in increasing resilience for future flooding events, and $68,000 will be made available to assist in developing an Aboriginal recovery training project for culturally appropriate training materials that will be integrated into emergency management training conducted by the Red Cross, just to name a few. This funding is being made available on the eve of South Australia's worst natural disaster—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: I think it was a bigger disaster for you when you were in opposition and you lost a seat—2009, and you lost Frome. Remember that. We now have a very capable, Independent member for Frome, rather than a Liberal, so even in opposition you can't win a by-election.

Fires on Ash Wednesday raged across two states and burnt 520,000 hectares. More than 3,700 buildings were destroyed with a total of 2,400 homes lost. We saw heavy livestock losses and, tragically, here in South Australia, the lives of 28 South Australians were lost and many hundreds more had their lives devastated. I look forward to heading to Mount Lofty on Thursday to attend the memorial service to commemorate the 1983 Ash Wednesday fire.

As a community we learnt a lot of valuable lessons that day. To ensure this tragedy was not in vain, our efforts to increase our resilience to natural disasters must continue. We must remain vigilant. We still have some time to go before the bushfire season has passed, and I cannot stress enough the need for us all to keep spreading the message of the need to be prepared.