Pinery Bushfires

Mr GEE (Napier) (14:59): My question is to the Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion. When will the Pinery bushfire recovery centre open and where will it be located?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (14:59): I thank the member for this question. During the devastating Pinery bushfire, the government established three emergency relief centres in Balaklava, Clare and Gawler, in order to provide the affected communities with accommodation and financial support. The focus has now shifted from relief to recovery. An accessible site has been selected to host the recovery centre from the Pinery fire at the Gawler TAFE on High Street, which will open on Monday 7 December. This will complete the transition of our efforts from relief to recovery.

The recovery centre will be a central place for the community to meet, access information and advice and seek support. This facility will also be the base for local recovery coordinator, Vince Monterola, who has been appointed to work alongside communities affected by the fire. Mr Monterola has hit the ground running in this role and I want to thank him for the important work that he has done helping devastated communities impacted by this fire.

A series of community meetings will be held in the affected area from today. All members of the community are encouraged to attend the meetings, which are an opportunity for people to meet together, discuss issues and hear the latest information. Representatives from state and local government will be in attendance, along with other organisations offering help and support. The meetings will be facilitated by the local recovery coordinator and be held today at Mallala in the Mallala Institute from 4pm to 5pm and at Hamley Bridge in the recreation centre at the Hamley Bridge Football Oval, 6pm to 7pm. There is also a community meeting on Monday 7 December in Freeling at the Freeling Recreation Park at 6pm.

For further information about the meetings, we encourage people to call the fire recovery hotline on 1800 302 787. Further fire recovery information is available www.sa.gov.au/recovery. A mobile recovery centre will be established at Light Regional Council at Kapunda from next week. The address is 93 Main Street, Kapunda. The mobile recovery centre will commence at the council from 1pm to 5pm next Thursday 10 December. It will be a weekly service thereafter with the exact day and time each week yet to be finalised. We have looked to establish also another one in Hamley Bridge from 14 December.

By having an outreach and a mobile service, it is a way that we can provide as many services to people as possible to ensure that people who do not wish to attend the recovery centre can still be supported as much as possible. Can I note that through the recovery period the Clare relief centre has now closed and the Balaklava relief centre will close at 7pm tomorrow, 4 December.