Bills

Criminal Law Consolidation (Bushfires) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 17 February 2021.)

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (10:32): I rise on behalf of the people of Stuart to speak on the Criminal Law Consolidation (Bushfires) Amendment Bill, brought to us previously by the member for Waite. Quite understandably, the member for Waite brought this proposal to our parliament largely in the wake of the Adelaide Hills bushfires, not only for that reason but largely because of it.

I certainly understand it. As a member of parliament who has had several bushfires in my electorate over the last 11 years I have been in this place, I share the anger—I think 'anger' is probably the right sort of word to use—that I understand the member for Waite has with regard to people who deliberately light fires and the harm and damage that come out of that. The intent with regard to bringing this bill forward is something that I certainly understand.

The key feature of the bill is to amend section 85B of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act by increasing the maximum penalty for the offence of causing a bushfire from 20 years up to life imprisonment. It also requires a court finding a defendant guilty of the offence to make an order under section 124 of the Sentencing Act 2017 that the defendant pay compensation for injury, loss or damage resulting from the offence. There are some exceptions. Very briefly, that is what the member's bill seeks to do. I share the sentiment behind wanting to bring it forward.

In our electorate of Stuart, we have had numerous bushfires. Some started by accident and some started by nature. Some people contend that they could have been small bushfires started by accident or by nature that, through negligence, were not contained properly and then developed into much bigger and much more damaging bushfires. I can think of at least one bushfire we have had that was started allegedly through negligence, by careless and probably recklessly careless management of fire. We even had another bushfire started in our electorate, an out of control bushfire, that was started by a deliberate burn.

Although I was not there, I am very reliably informed by people who were right there—as in metres away—that the person under the previous government in charge of that government-managed prescribed burn to try to prevent bushfires and bushfire damage down the track was told by others, 'Don't do it. The weather has changed. It's the wrong day. Do not go ahead with this prescribed burn today. It will be a disaster.' The decision was made by the person in charge to continue anyway and, yes, it turned out to be a disaster. It was more environmental and commercial with regard to property than it was with regard to loss of homes or life. Thankfully, there were no losses of homes or lives or anything.

Bushfires can start in many different ways and often it is very difficult afterwards to know exactly what the cause was, and I use these examples: purely nature, lightning strike, somebody not managing a government-sanctioned burn-off, or perhaps even starting it when they should not have done so, or a person whose legal burn-off of rubbish on their own property gets out of control. It is very hard and, yes, of course, I take the point very clearly that this private member's bill is trying to address the very serious crime of deliberately starting a fire and when that fire does very serious damage.

I have to say that we already have those sorts of protections in place. This bill would duplicate penalties that are already available in South Australia's Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935. In South Australia, currently there is a maximum penalty of life imprisonment when a person causes property damage by fire or explosives or in cases where there has been a loss of life. SA's laws are already consistent with those in Western Australia and Queensland and significantly stricter than those in other jurisdictions, such as the ACT and Victoria. I fully understand the sentiment behind this bill, but I am not convinced that it provides more than we already have in place at the moment and/or provides anything additional we need to have.

With regard to bushfires, we have had situations where farm machinery, agricultural equipment, has started a bushfire and people have died. Those circumstances are taken extraordinarily seriously and there is absolutely no suggestion whatsoever by me that in the case that occurred in the last 11 years since I have been a member of parliament it was anything other than an accident. I know the member is not looking to include situations like that in this bill.

If a person who had the authority to start a prescribed government burn was advised not to by other very capable people on the scene at the time and that person with authority chose to proceed anyway, and if, as was thankfully not the case, a circumstance like that ended up with, at the extreme, loss of life or any of the other potential outcomes suggested to be covered here, would that person fall under this bill?

That would have to go to the court. Yes, the person had the authority and, yes, the person had no intention of deliberately harming people but, yes, the person did light the fire that did cause that and did so in opposition to or without heeding the advice of others who believed that was a very likely outcome. It is very hard to say. Courts could spend years dealing with those issues.

I will say again that I am not sure this bill protects our state or, most importantly, the people the member for Waite and no doubt all of us want to protect. Would this bill actually give them greater protection? On the other hand, would it also provide greater penalties to people who fall foul of this and have clearly deliberately and knowingly done the wrong thing that ends up with this kind of catastrophic outcome? I do not think so.

I am not a lawyer. I take advice from friends and colleagues who are more learned than me in this area—at the top of the list, of course, is the Attorney-General. I do not claim to be a lawyer, but I do claim to be pretty well across the fundamentals of what happens on the ground when there is a bushfire. I am not only talking about fighting the fire but I am talking about dealing with people and the impacts on them during the fire and in the days and weeks and months and years following bushfires.

It is absolutely, completely, 100 per cent disgraceful, disgusting or whatever the strongest polite word I can think of for somebody to deliberately light a fire. Of course, it is even worse if the consequences are as grave as those considered in this bill. I think we already have the right tools at our disposal to deal with those unacceptable circumstances.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services) (10:42): I rise to speak on the bill, which seeks to amend section 85B of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 by increasing the maximum penalty for causing a bushfire from 20 years' imprisonment to life imprisonment. It also requires a court to require a person found guilty of an offence under section 85B to pay compensation for injury, loss or damage under section 124 of the Sentencing Act 2017.

I make very clear that any act that causes a fire is a despicable act. We know all too well the destruction and the devastation that fires, particularly bushfires, can cause. I fully appreciate the motivations of the member for Waite in moving this bill. As the Attorney outlined, South Australia has strong laws that create offences for acts of arson and causing property damage by fire as well as offences for placing human life at risk.

Section 85 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act makes it an offence for a person to intentionally or recklessly damage property by fire or explosives without lawful excuse and the maximum penalty for such acts is life imprisonment. Section 85B creates a specific offence for causing a bushfire, and the maximum penalty is 20 years' imprisonment.

Where an intentionally or deliberately lit fire or bushfire poses a risk to human life, a person can be charged with endangering life under section 29 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act, which has a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment or 18 if the offence is of an aggravated nature. Where an intentionally or deliberately lit fire or bushfire results in the loss of human life, a person can be charged with manslaughter or murder, both of which attract maximum penalties of life imprisonment.

We have committed to doing all we can to prevent acts of arson. Each fire danger season, South Australia Police target suspected arsonists through what is known as Operation Nomad. This season, Operation Nomad has continued. This season, SAPOL has been assisted by the State Emergency Service (SES) in monitoring more than 80 persons of interest and improving bushfire prevention.

I am very grateful to have the opportunity to speak on this bill, and I can say from the outset that I certainly appreciate where the member for Waite is coming from in moving the bill. All members in the place, and indeed all South Australians, are all too aware of the devastation that bushfires can cause. Sir, you saw in recent times in your own electorate the devastation that bushfires can bring.

Since my time as Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services, I have had the privilege of visiting probably by now more than 50 CFS units across the state. I am constantly in awe of the hard work, the determination and the commitment these volunteers show out in our community. These brigades are located in communities all around the state, and many have been affected by bushfires in recent years.

As I said, these volunteers are in communities right across what is a very vast space in our state. Visiting those fire-affected communities, and speaking with those who risk their lives fighting bushfires, makes it absolutely unimaginable to me that a person would be prepared to cause such physical, but also emotional, pain and destruction.

Just recently, I visited the Paracombe CFS. The Paracombe CFS is currently in the member for Newland's electorate, but I think after the election it may be in the member for Schubert's electorate, unfortunately for the member for Newland. It is a lovely part of the world. I visited the Paracombe CFS, amongst other brigades, and I heard harrowing stories from long-term CFS volunteers about their experiences fighting bushfires.

One volunteer was a group officer during the Sampson Flat bushfires of recent times. That person spent an agonising amount of time not knowing whether a crew of his was actually safe during that catastrophe, as the fire consumed the area in which they were allocated. I certainly cannot imagine how traumatic it would have been for this particular group officer and the families of the crew members, who were constantly seeking updates about their loved ones. There are thousands of CFS volunteers with similar stories and experiences right across the state.

To deliberately cause a bushfire is to deliberately cause suffering and loss to South Australians. We know that South Australia already faces enough risk from bushfires that unfortunately ignite naturally due to things like lightning, for example. Having seen the destruction that bushfires cause, and having heard the stories of those who risk their lives fighting bushfires, I think there is no doubt that anyone who deliberately causes a bushfire is unsuitable to be a free member of our community. So I empathise with where the member for Waite is coming from with this bill and I share his commitment to ensuring that South Australian communities are as protected from bushfires as possible.

South Australia has strong laws that ensure people who cause bushfires and place lives at risk are appropriately dealt with. Section 85 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act makes it an offence for a person to intentionally or recklessly damage property by fire or explosives without lawful excuse. The maximum penalty for that is life imprisonment. Section 85B creates a specific offence of causing a bushfire. The maximum penalty is 20 years' imprisonment.

Where an intentionally or deliberately lit fire or bushfire poses a risk to human life, a person can be charged with endangering life under section 29 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act which has a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment, or 18 years for an aggravated offence. Where an intentionally or deliberately lit fire or bushfire results in the loss of human life, a person can be charged with manslaughter or even murder, both of which attract maximum penalties of life imprisonment.

Importantly, our efforts to combat acts of arson and causing bushfires are not limited to just after the event. Every bushfire season, South Australia Police stands up Operation Nomad, which focuses on preventing deliberate, reckless and negligent acts that may cause bushfires. During Operation Nomad, SAPOL also monitors persons of interests who are known arsonists. This bushfire season, SAPOL has proactively monitored, and continues to monitor, over 80 persons of interest.

I also acknowledge that this bushfire season South Australia Police is also being assisted by about 40 SES volunteers. They have been providing very welcome support to South Australia Police through the COVID-19 pandemic. The Marshall Liberal government has zero tolerance for deliberate or reckless acts that cause bushfires. We have strong laws to ensure that those who seek to cause bushfires are brought to justice.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (10:52): I rise to speak to the Criminal Law Consolidation (Bushfires) Amendment Bill 2021. I certainly appreciate the sentiment the member for Waite has in bringing this bill to the house. As a CFS firefighter and landowner, as I have mentioned in this place many times, either fighting fires on the frontline or mopping up after many in operations—twice on Kangaroo Island and once at Sedan, just outside my electorate currently—I know that bushfires are a terrible thing.

I have been witness to the effects of Ash Wednesday in 1983 and have seen the effects of bushfires right across the state. The Cudlee Creek fire affected Harrogate in my electorate and it was fortunate that the town itself was saved. Sadly, much property was lost and there was a life lost very sadly. Also, there have been many fires down through the South-East recently around Keilira, Kingston and the big one at Lucindale.

There were a couple in my electorate about 15 months ago, the Carcuma fire out the back of Coonalpyn and, more recently, on 19 November last year during the pause, we had the Yumali-Netherton fire. As I have said in this place before, being someone who has fought a few fires, I have had a couple of burn-offs accidentally get away for a minute and I have had to deal with that. But that is what happens in farming.

We have managed to beat them as well, so you do learn what you need to do. I must say there was a time with the Yumali-Netherton fire when we had to make a decision whether to save a house or not and it was within seconds of pulling out. If I did not have hose reels on my fire unit, we would not have stayed because I had to put the safety of my crew first, which included both my young sons.

Certainly, in regard to the Cherry Gardens fire, which was the impetus for the member for Waite bringing forward this legislation, what a disgrace. It appears that either a former or serving CFS volunteer decided they would allegedly commit arson. My understanding is that on that afternoon the Cherry Gardens brigade were at their headquarters and able to deploy very, very quickly when this fire started. There appear to have been multiple ignition points, up to about 10 I believe. It was such a disgraceful action.

We have seen this disgraceful action across the state in previous times when serial fire lighters have flagrantly lit fires. We have seen it impact throughout the Adelaide Hills recently, as I said, at the Cherry Gardens fire. I have seen it impact the Rockley area, which over a period of a few years suffered close to five significant fires in the area between Harrogate, Callington and Murray Bridge, out the back there. They were significant fires with lots of land lost and some property, as in housing and buildings, lost.

When there are incidents closer to urban areas, especially where they get lit up, probably only because of population density there is more significant risk to life. This could have had a far worse outcome had it not been for the volunteers who were ready to go and those other volunteers and firefighters who turned up very, very quickly to combat this blaze. This could have had far worse effects.

We already know from previous studies what could happen with a major event. This was done several years ago in the Blackwood area; there could be up to 300 deaths. Some of these places, and I include Mount Barker in this conversation, have narrow streets, narrow roads. I believe there are certainly some places that are too dangerous, if it is really on, for a CFS crew to even attempt to go down. That is a real issue.

I just do not understand why anyone would think it is fun to light a fire on purpose. It is just such a disgraceful act because the risk is not just to buildings, property or farmland; the biggest risk is the loss of life and major injury.

Young Damien Heym helped fight the Yumali-Netherton fire, and he is now in a skin-tight suit for a couple of years because he got burnt badly trying to do his bit in the fire. It good to see him up and about, getting things done. His family, Sharon and his kids, and others are giving great support to get him on the way to mend. I personally know people who have been severely burnt. Sadly, we saw it on Kangaroo Island with the loss of Dick Lang and his son Clayton in that horrific incident. I do not know if I could think of anything worse than dying in a bushfire.

We must do all we can to prevent this happening. I understand the sentiment of the member for Waite, but I also understand, as described earlier by other members, that the legislation is in place, and perhaps it is up to the courts to impose the tough penalties that are required so that people know the implications of what could happen—especially to try to stop people repeating these actions.

It is disgraceful even in this day and age that not only does this happen but that we also have to have a watchlist of firelighters or potential firelighters. I do not know how big that list is, but it is significant enough for police to knock on doors—and I commend them for their work. It is significant enough for police to have vehicles stationed generally throughout the Hills in those areas that are more densely populated and further out than where I am at Coomandook, to look for the serial arsonists and check whether they are home. If they are not home, they have to check that they are not up to no good, so to speak.

I do not know what people think they have to prove doing this. It is just destruction on a grand scale. They would surely know that if you have a 40-plus degree day, especially, and a bit of wind about, there is a very high potential that someone could lose their life, let alone that major property damage could occur. On this side, we certainly believe the measures are already there in different legislation to get the right outcome.

In my closing few seconds I would like to commend all our firefighters, whether they be CFS, whether they be MFS, whether they be Aerotech and the other fly boys and girls who fight from the air, whether it be all the people associated with farm fire units, or whether it be the people who keep people on the ground fed and watered, including the Salvation Army. They put in a magnificent effort in keeping us all safe. The people who go out causing these acts of arson are the worst of the worst.

Ms LUETHEN (King) (11:02): I rise to speak to this bill, and thank the member for Waite for raising this very important conversation in this place so that we can review the penalties in place. I absolutely empathise with where he is coming from.

Following the devastation of the 2019-20 South Australian bushfire season, the Marshall Liberal state government commissioned an independent review to identify how South Australia's response to bushfires could be improved so that we can keep South Australian properties and families safe. The South Australian 2019-20 bushfire season had the worst conditions on record. The losses attributed to the fires included three human lives, 196 homes, 660 vehicles and 68,000 livestock, as well as $200 million of agricultural production. About 280,000 hectares of land were burnt and several national parks were totally or partially burnt.

The successful efforts of all those involved in fighting the fires is acknowledged, including the efforts of our local volunteers in the One Tree Hill CFS, the Tea Tree Gully CFS, SAPOL, the State Emergency Service, the Metropolitan Fire Service, the Department for Environment and Water and ForestrySA, as well as the local farm firefighting units.

Community members were invited to have their say about bushfires in our review, and invited to say what we can fix and what we can provide support for so that South Australian families and businesses are kept safe in the future. The review adopted a simple three-pronged approach: what worked, what did not work and what we can fix before the next bushfire season. The independent review found that the response from our emergency services sector was remarkable; however, 68 findings and 15 recommendations were made as to how South Australia's emergency services capabilities could be improved.

Some actions I would like to highlight include funding of $60,000 per annum indexed that was included in the 2020-21 state budget for the appointment of an independent chair. In line with the government's response to the independent review, this bill also proposes to enable the Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services to table reports from the State Bushfire Coordination Committee in state parliament.

Building on our $48.5 million package released, the Marshall Liberal government has delivered a further $49 million package to ensure that South Australia is as prepared as possible for our next bushfire emergency. The conditions that gripped the state in the 2019-20 bushfire season were some of the worst on record, and this government has responded with a $97.5 million package to keep South Australians safe. We are investing nearly $100 million so that our emergency services staff and volunteers have the resources and support they need to protect our lives and properties.

Importantly, we are boosting support to the CFS volunteers by employing nine additional regional staff, who will reduce the administrative burden on volunteers. We know that emergency services staff and volunteers experience some of the most extreme and distressing circumstances, so we are increasing mental health support by employing an additional professionally qualified counsellor. Key elements of our response also include:

$5 million for AVL technology, which has been successfully trialled this summer;

$7.2 million for new CFS appliances, including 25 new trucks for the 2020-21 bushfire season;

$2.7 million to retrofit 49 CFS vehicles with burnover protection;

rollout of thermal imaging cameras to all 55 CFS groups;

$11.5 million for new MFS heavy appliances;

$4.7 million for nine additional regional FTEs, including the first permanent CFS staffing presence on Kangaroo Island;

$4 million to upgrade the state incident management facilities and continue Project Renew, upgrading the CFS stations so that CFS volunteers have modern and functional facilities;

$2.1 million for four extra FTEs to provide more support to the State Bushfire Coordination Committee;

funding for an additional counsellor, as I have mentioned, to support the mental health and wellbeing of our amazing volunteers; and

$37 million for increased hazard protection, including prescribed burns on public and private land.

As the Chair of the Natural Resources Committee, I also have a keen interest in bushfire prevention, as do all the committee members. We recently requested an update on the independent review into the bushfire season 2019-20. Dominic Lane, Chief Executive, SAFECOM, kindly provided us an update on this review and abundant time to ask important questions about what is being supported and what is the next priority. What we heard was there have been numerous—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order, sir.

Ms LUETHEN: —previous reviews and inquiries into bushfires in South Australia.

The SPEAKER: The member for King will resume her seat. The member for West Torrens on a point of order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Standing order 128—

The SPEAKER: The member for King will resume her seat. The member for West Torrens has the call.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Standing order 128: irrelevance to the matter before us. This bill regards penalties for arson. The member is talking at length about government initiatives to combat bushfires. The bill is not seeking in any way to resource that effort. It is simply talking about arson and penalties, and I would ask her to come back to the debate.

The SPEAKER: There is no point of order. I am listening carefully to the contribution of the member for King. The debate in the context of considering two elements, one being a sentencing penalty provision and another on the subject matter of the provision for compensation to be provided, is squarely the subject of clause 3 of the bill that is under consideration. The member for King, in addressing matters that go to the context in which the subject matter is considered by government, in my opinion is squarely relevant to the bill. The member for King has the call.

Ms LUETHEN: Thank you, Mr Speaker. We very much recognise the importance of bushfire prevention penalties so that we can keep our South Australian families and properties safe. What we have heard is that there have been previous reviews and inquiries into bushfires in South Australia over many years; however, not all the recommendations accepted by the government in the past have been audited for implementation. An example of this was the inaction by the previous government to provide the automatic vehicle location systems to the CFS fleet. There is a commitment from our Marshall Liberal government to implement the critical previous review recommendations for bushfire management, prevention and protection of our community.

Recently, the One Tree Hill Soccer Club and the Tea Tree Gully City Soccer Club, two clubs I sponsor on behalf of the King community, ran their second annual CFS fundraiser in my electorate. Both teams played off all day. The Premier attended this fantastic second event to take part, to toss the coins, to start off this exciting day, as did the member for Newland. As it would happen, the Tea Tree Gully City Soccer Club won overall for the second year running—by only one goal, though. More important than that—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms LUETHEN: Only one goal over all the matches in the entire day, but more importantly than that, what happened—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens!

Ms LUETHEN: —was that through this wonderful, family-friendly day there were many important dollars raised for the CFS, and that money was split for the second year between the One Tree Hill CFS and the Tea Tree Gully CFS to support our volunteers. I commend both clubs and the community for coming out for that fun family day and, more importantly, for the funds that were raised.

That is what we are doing on this side: we are protecting our state. I thank the member for Waite for bringing this bill forward. Its intent is incredibly important. As advised earlier by my colleague the Minister for Energy and Mining, this bill unfortunately would duplicate some penalties that are already in place—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms LUETHEN: —but I absolutely support the intent of the member for Waite—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens!

Ms LUETHEN: —and I thank him for bringing the bill to the parliament.

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (11:12): I, too, rise to acknowledge the member for Waite for looking to increase penalties for what is considered to be an act of arson that in so many ways impacts so many lives and so many businesses. We know that not all fires are deliberately lit. A lot of fires are naturally lit by dry lightning, and roadside fires can start from machinery breakdowns or machinery issues. What that shows us is that we are always, in some way, shape or form, vulnerable to fires, fires that get out of control. We know that over many years fires come and fires go and we continue to experience the devastation they cause.

Some acts of arson have changed people's lives forever, and it can never be explained. Obviously, there are issues with people who are committing those acts, whether it is mental health, whether they are just pyromaniacs, or whether they have some level of vendetta or want community payback in some way, shape or form. It really is a concern that these people continue to threaten some of these communities.

By and large, most of the communities that are threatened are regional communities and the fuel loads are there. Seasonal variances do add to the increased risk of fires; we saw that the 2019-20 bushfire season was a horror, and we know that there were high fuel loads after the drought. In many areas we saw some big fires. We know that the Yorketown fire burnt out a considerable amount of farmland, nearly 7,000 hectares, and the Cudlee Creek fires burnt out 23,000 hectares.

Kangaroo Island was the most devastating of all the fires. I do not want to categorise whose was the worst, as fires affect a lot of people and a lot of businesses. The Kangaroo Island fires burnt 211,000 hectares and 37,000 hectares were burnt in the Keilira fires. There were other fires, including Yumali, the Lucindale fires and the Duckpond fires. I have visited a lot of these fire sites. I was hosted at Keilira by the member for MacKillop. I saw how, under the conditions, fires came in and ripped through some of the prime farming country down there.

I also note that the Attorney-General's family farm was severely burnt by the Kangaroo Island fires. I, too, visited Kangaroo Island, but I went over there in a capacity to help. I went over there to help one of my very good friends whose property had been totally burnt. He lost his homes and his vehicles; he lost everything. He did not lose all his livestock but he lost the majority of it. Sadly, he was surrounded by some of the forests over there, and he was able to show me exactly how the forest acts as a wick to the fires.

While I was there I helped him. He and his family were struggling with putting down livestock, and I helped him destroy many hundreds of sheep and then put them into pits. We also tried to comfort some of the livestock that had their feet burnt badly. Some of the livestock were able to recover, which was a good outcome. Through the course of all these fires, people's lives were changed forever, sadly. Some of those communities have rebuilt; they are resilient.

If I look at Kangaroo Island, the majority of their fencing has been replaced, particularly on the north coast and the western side of the island. A lot of homes have been rebuilt, and a lot of old asbestos homes that were burnt have been taken away. Kangaroo Island will rebuild and Keilira will rebuild. Yorke Peninsula saw a lot of farm country burnt, but they will rebuild, as will the people of the Adelaide Hills, and we saw the devastation up at Cudlee Creek.

In my previous capacity as a minister, I was able to console some of those communities and also provide support. I think PIRSA and the livestock section within the department did an excellent job, with vets out there helping livestock owners deal with fire-damaged stock. The community got together to help, but also the government stood up and provided assistance to those who were fire affected, not only businesses but also some of the hobby farmers who lost everything they had. We have seen over 600 vehicles lost and many hundreds of homes destroyed, but the devastation of livestock on Kangaroo Island was significant. We know that Kangaroo Island is still in the rebuilding phase, as are the people at Keilira.

I must commend the support of the volunteers coming together. The CFS, the MFS and the SES were outstanding, but we cannot forget the volunteers and the farmers with their firefighting units. They were an integral part of fighting those fires. They were an integral part in giving feedback to the professionals within the CFS, the MFS and the SES, giving that vital information. But also there was the aerial service that was provided, and we know that Flightech and other services did an outstanding job.

There were some issues along the way, particularly on Kangaroo Island where authorities would not allow them to use sea water in their equipment to fight the fires. I think that was a mistake. There were areas where the back-burning needed to start earlier. They were obviously issues they hadto deal with.

I think we need to again thank the volunteers who travelled from interstate and overseas, to help out with their expertise and to put their lives on the line. They should be thanked no end. We thank Livestock SA for their support, their mopping up and helping those livestock owners with feed and freight. I want to thank some of the other primary producers, the farmers who donated large amounts of fodder and stock, farm equipment, expertise, equipment, bulldozers and tractors so that we can actually get the show back on the road. I think they all need to be commended.

I would also like to put out a big thankyou to BlazeAid, an organisation that travels the country giving their volunteer time as good Samaritans. They do not do it for money: they do it because they are community-minded people. To start off with they roll up the old burnt equipment and rebuild fencing so that people can get on with their farming practice, get stock back into the paddocks that were not burnt and get that economy back on the road.

I would also like to thank Twiggy Forrest for the great work that he did. He attended a number of public meetings at Hahndorf with the wine industry dealing with smoke taint and dealing with vineyards that had been burnt and giving them an understanding that they can rebuild without having to pull everything out. He gave accommodation facilities and he put a huge amount of money on the table to help those communities rebuild and resurrect. They were great initiatives by those who were not impacted directly by fires and those who gave philanthropic donations to those communities who will be forever grateful.

I do acknowledge the member for Waite's motion, but I must say that there are significant penalties that the Attorney has already highlighted. I want to make sure that our communities stay safe, be fire ready, have a fire plan so that the damage is much less than it would be without a plan.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Brown.