Be Bushfire Ready Campaign

Ms HUTCHESSON (Waite) (15:21): This morning, I was very pleased to join the Minister for Emergency Services and the chief of the CFS, Brett Loughlin, the chief of the MFS, Jeff Swann, as well as some firefighters to talk about the Be Bushfire Ready bushfire season campaign starting tomorrow.

We also let people know that the fire season will be brought forward two weeks in Mount Lofty and the other districts that had not yet been announced. Now my community has about two weeks to be getting itself ready for bushfire season before the danger really starts to take hold. It has come back early because the vegetation is very dry and there is some concern that we need to make sure that communities are ready earlier.

The dry vegetation is a real problem. There is lots of high grass, and I encourage my community to get out with their whipper snipper and cut it because it is those fine fuels that really are going to create problems should a fire start.

It is important that we clean up around our houses. Make sure you clean out your gutters. The gutters are a really great spot for embers to fall should a fire start. One of the key reasons houses burn down is ember attack. Make sure gutters are clean, make sure it is clean around your house, cut the grass and get rid of flammable materials, such as garden furniture and different things like that that may be leaning against the house. All of that needs to be cleared away to give you the best option to survive a bushfire.

We need to make sure that we prepare our homes. Embers can also fall into cracks around windowsills or areas where decks are, so making sure holes are sealed up is a really great way to prevent embers from entering the home and starting a fire. Even if people feel as if their house is fully prepared, they need to make sure that it is. If their plan is to leave, that is excellent. We do not want people in the area on catastrophic fire days. If you are planning to stay, or even if you are not, if your home is not prepared, then you put other people's lives in danger because a home that is fully prepared has a much better chance of surviving a bushfire than one that is not.

Usually, we know that it is going to be a catastrophic day around 4 to 4.30pm the day before. I encourage residents to check the CFS website to find out what the rating will be. If a fire were to start on a catastrophic day, it would be incredibly difficult to control. That catastrophic rating means that it is going to be too hot and it is going to be almost impossible for firefighters to get to a fire on time to get it out before it really takes hold. That way, if people are not in the area, we are not having to worry about them and they are in a safe space.

I have done quite a bit of work not only talking to community about what their plans are for catastrophic days but also finding places for them to go on catastrophic days because some people do not have family or friends down on the flat. I have worked really hard and spoken with our friends at Wallis Cinemas at Mitcham, and they are offering our community, those who live in the seat of Waite in the Mitcham Hills, $10 movie tickets. You can go down to Wallis, watch a movie, enjoy their lounge and stay in the cool on catastrophic days.

The aquatic centre at Marion is also offering $20 family passes, for a whole family to go there and spend the day in the pool away from danger but close enough to know that if they wanted to they could go home. Also the Women's Memorial Playing Fields will be open for community members to go along to. There is TV there, there are places to charge phones, and you can take some pets there as well. There is also the Tonsley Innovation District. They have a really great undercover area where people can take kids with their bikes, and they can take their pets there to stay safe as well. I am continuing to work on more things for catastrophic days because if I can find different things for people to do then, hopefully, that will mean they do not want to stay at home.

When you are doing a bushfire plan it is so important that you consider lots of different aspects, not only what you will do but what your family should do, what you are going to do with your pets, what you are going to do should your kids be home alone, and what you are going to do if your car does not start. These are all things that need to be in a bushfire plan.

The other thing you can do is that if you live on a street where there is a vulnerable community member, whether they be elderly, whether they be disabled, whether they may not be able to hear or may not be up with technology, perhaps check on them as well and see what their plans are, and in that way if you can help them in some way you will be able to keep them safe.

Those bushfire plans also need to be shared with your family, not ones who live with you, because hopefully they have worked on it with you together, but those who live in other areas who might be wondering and worrying about what you are doing on a catastrophic day or if a fire should start. Share your bushfire plan and make sure you are ready, because bushfire season is coming and if we all plan together then we will build a resilient community together.

I look forward to helping our community as much as I can. Always feel free to give my office a ring if you need any resources or head to the CFS website.