Bushfire Preparedness

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (15:30): I would like to spend a little bit of time today talking about Bushfire Action Week. It is the week of the year when we need to be—or some people, I should say—reminded about Australia and what it is like from now on through to March/April, probably, next year. In February it will be 33 years since Ash Wednesday, and some of us recall quite clearly what happened on that day, and ever since then or for a few years afterwards, unfortunately, we have been living in dread of it happening again.

That has only been enhanced by the population density increasing in the Adelaide Hills, and copious numbers of people have probably moved there without having much understanding whatsoever of fires and just what happens with fires. I have said it before in this place and I will say it again if I have the opportunity that I do not want to be around when the next one happens up there because we got away fairly luckily last year with the Sampson Flat fire, but when that day of reckoning comes in the Adelaide Hills it is going to be a catastrophe, I am afraid.

This year has been marked by another early shut-off to the season with significant lack of spring rains. In my area, the Fleurieu Peninsula and the island, we probably have about two months more spring than we had last year, but already we had two fires on the weekend. We had a fire at Middleton. I am not sure of the cause of that one but that got into a paddock of hay and burnt some of that, and then we had a fire over on Kangaroo Island on the weekend which was started by lightning.

Even last night crews were called out again to that. It had only burnt about 20 hectares, or 50 acres, according to reports, but last night it got up again, and I need to remind the house that it is now eight years since the large fires of 2007 on the island when some 100,000 hectares were burnt—principally government land—as a result of lightning strikes and also as a result of the failure by government authorities to do enough burning during the spring and late autumn to provide breaks in those parks and crown lands to slow or stop a fire when it happens. It is simply not good enough.

I am fully aware that the CFS crews across my electorate are upgrading their training skills in preparation for the season. There are areas where the grass is still green and will stay green for a little bit longer, on what I do not know but it will. However, there are many areas that have dried out considerably, particularly in the last week, and with hot weather approaching we are going to have to be on our mettle, and CFS crews and others are going to be called out again over the next few months to prepare for bushfires.

I urge anyone in this place who has the opportunity, whether they live in the centre of the city or in the bush or in the Hills, or wherever, to get their communities active to do something about bushfire prevention and fire prevention generally. It does not take much to clear around your property and it is absolutely imperative.

I know that those of us who live in farming areas clear around our places and have as much growth slashed, ploughed up, watered or whatever to try to prevent a fire going through our property—or through our homes, more to the point —when it happens. It is pleasing to see that the CFS education people are out there pushing communities to do something about it and advertising. I heard the CFS Chief Officer, Mr Nettleton, on the radio just recently talking about it, I have seen some TV coverage and I have seen the current minister—whether he survives the summer or not I am not sure—trying to push the cause as well which, indeed, is his job. It is the duty of everyone in this place.

We do not want to have a catastrophe. Sometimes you cannot stop catastrophes with fires but, as long as everybody does their bit and remembers that it is Bushfire Action Week and clears around their property and does everything possible, hopefully we will get through this summer and autumn okay.

Time expired.