Kangaroo Island Bushfire Response

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson) (14:21): My question is to the Premier. How long should Kangaroo Island bushfire victims wait to have the wreckage of their 89 homes cleared? With your leave and that of the house, I will explain.

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni: No.

The SPEAKER: Leave is not granted, member for Mawson.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left! Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, you can leave for half an hour, as can the member for West Torrens and the member for Playford.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: Don't ever do a deal with me again, ever.

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens is very lucky to not be named. Minister, you will leave for half an hour.

The honourable members for Chaffey, West Torrens and Playford having withdrawn from the chamber:

The SPEAKER: Member for Mawson, I'm going to give you another go to rephrase the question.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: My question is to the Premier. How long should Kangaroo Island bushfire victims wait to have the wreckage of their 89 homes cleared?

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Minister for Environment and Water) (14:22): I thank the member for Mawson for his question. As the member for Mawson would be aware, it is a particularly complex situation, both in the Adelaide Hills and Kangaroo Island, with regard to the clean-up. Because of the extent of the fires in both locations, this is actually the first time that the state government's disaster waste management framework has been implemented and, of course, that disaster waste management process will be reviewed as part of the inquiry into the bushfires to make sure that any learnings from it can result in improvements.

The clean-up began fairly quickly after the fires passed through, but of course for much of the fireground there was a status of an active fire zone for an extended period of time. Our first priority was to deal with hazardous waste, largely made up of asbestos. I understand that some 100 per cent of residential homes impacted on Kangaroo Island by fire contained asbestos. Other hazardous waste categories include chemical spills and also CCA posts, particularly in the Hills but also present in some areas of Kangaroo Island.

As a consequence of the fire, those hazardous items were identified as the things that needed to be dealt with very quickly. We moved in where possible, particularly where asbestos could be identified. Through the disaster waste management framework, we saw the asbestos sites sprayed with a PVA glue substance to contain that asbestos as well as possible on the physical location where the destruction had occurred. Hazardous waste was the first priority and then moving on to full clearance of sites. It is complex.

There has been a situation where we have found more properties, often abandoned residential properties, particularly again on the island, which has added to the list. We are working, I believe, diligently with the community over there. I am in very regular contact with the mayor and with people on the ground. I had a conversation just a couple of days ago with Peter Wallis from Kangaroo Island Earthworks. We are trying to make sure that contractors and people with experience and on-ground equipment on the island can be engaged in this process wherever possible.

As the work contracts are awarded, as much as possible is being provided to local contractors. There will, of course, be a necessity to have contractors coming from the mainland over to the island because of the scale of that job. It's an area where we have achieved market saturation quite quickly, in terms of using up the available contractors, but we are working to expand the industry and their capacity both in the Adelaide Hills and on Kangaroo Island.

We remain committed to getting this done as quickly as we can, but bearing in mind it is a difficult and complex situation. I want to reassure the house, the member for Mawson and the community that he represents that we are trying to move as quickly as we can on this. Of course, on paper it sounds as if it could go quicker, but I do think we are progressing through that. If there are particular examples that the member for Mawson wants to raise with me and my office, I would be more than happy to hear of those and work through those on an individual basis.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: Thank you for the answer. I have written over 20 letters to ministers but have had no response.

The SPEAKER: Member for Mawson, be very careful. Do you have a question?