Limestone Coast Bushfires

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (15:20): I rise today to thank and acknowledge the over 800 volunteers who have been assisting with fires that have started across my electorate over the last week. Last week, storms sparked more than 180 fires across the Limestone Coast, overwhelmingly from dry lightning strikes. In addition, there have been brigades fighting the Ngarkat fire in the north of the electorate that was first reported on 10 March. That fire has burnt a combined area of 9½ thousand hectares of scrub, and is still burning but is now controlled. Previously, prescribed burns undertaken by the National Parks and Wildlife Service played a crucial role in containing this fire that will continue to be controlled for a number of days.

Nearly all of the 68 brigades and trucks of the South-East or Limestone Coast region have been actively responding to all the call-outs since these fires started. The Woolmit Road/Reedy Creek fire started on 11 March. This is a small area just south of Kingston, and the fire started when native vegetation was struck by lightning. The Nora Creina started on 15 March, and was a grass fire that was apparently quickly contained.

The Fox fire in the hundred of Fox started on 16 March, an extremely high fire danger day. Six hundred hectares have been burnt but the fire has now been contained. This fire was burning south of Lucindale, which this Friday and Saturday is hosting the hugely important South East Field Days. One uninhabited property has been impacted. Again, the Fox fire started in some native vegetation that was hit by lightning on that hot day on Saturday. It impacted and got going in those dry, hot conditions and caught people in the region unawares that it had been struck—not that they were not looking, but no-one knew that it had been there and away it went. A large patch of private scrub and plantation timber has been burnt.

A base camp has now been set up at Naracoorte Showgrounds in response to the Fox fire at Lucindale. This 'tent city' can accommodate more than 100 people, with tents and stretcher beds set up for people working day and night. St John Ambulance are on standby to assist as required, and the Salvation Army is providing meals for the crews that have come from across the state and across the border. These crews have been assisted by DEW (Department for Environment and Water), farm fire units, forestry industry brigades, MFS, CFA and contractors from Victoria with heavy equipment. The CFS says that two large air tankers from Victoria and ACT have been called in to assist, along with 20 trucks and 80 firefighters and a strike team from the CFA in Victoria.

I would like to acknowledge Minister Bourke, the Minister for Emergency Services, for her proactive approach to the management of these fires and the conditions. On Thursday afternoon, after working with the government and going around the local government of Kingston and looking at Cape Jaffa and its issues and opportunities, I had this phone call telling me, 'Nick, we've got a really big effort being put in tomorrow,' which was the Friday. I was told that 300 firefighters and 95 trucks were expected in my region, looking very seriously to manage the Woolmit fire on Friday as well as the Ngarkat. This was pre-emptive to try to get major control of those fires so they would not get out of control on the Saturday, which was forecast to be another very hot day with strong winds.

Come the Saturday, both the Ngarkat and the Woolmit fires were well and truly controlled—I will not say they were totally out but they were controlled—but then this flare-up happened in Fox, which no-one even knew really existed until the Saturday, and all resources were put into that fire to make sure it did not go any further than it needed to.

I was umpiring at Nangwarry at the trial game between Nangwarry and Edenhope-Apsley in 35° heat and when driving out of Nangwarry, heading back home in a northerly direction, I got a phone call again from the minister to tell me what was going on in my region with the smoke, the hundred of Fox, the bombers and the CFA from Victoria and that they were stopping the fire spreading from outside the native veg and the forestry sector, which was blue gums, and I can say they did a fantastic job.

I would also just say that we do not thank these volunteers and firefighters enough. They give up their time to assist and protect assets and livelihoods as they can. It is typical of these rural communities to all pull together like they did on the weekend. I would also like to thank Region 5 Commander, Jason Drewitt, from Naracoorte and the headquarters and the team at Naracoorte for dealing with those thousands of lightning strikes and hundreds of fires in our region. The last week has been probably very busy and hectic for all paid CFS staff, volunteers, community firefighters and all the other volunteers who have participated. A very big thank you from the member from MacKillop and those around.