PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES (NATURAL DISASTERS COMMITTEE) AMENDMENT BILL

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (16:23): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Parliamentary Committees Act. Read a first time.

The PRESIDENT: The honourable and youthful Mr Dawkins.

Second Reading

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (16:23): There's a saying in Rotary, 'Is it the truth?' Thank you, Mr President. I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

This is a bill entitled the Parliamentary Committees (Natural Disasters Committee) Amendment Bill 2013. This bill has evolved from the report of the Natural Resources Committee on bushfires and that work started in the previous parliament before I was a member of the Natural Resources Committee and produced an interim report. That work was finalised with a report in 2011.

A feature of the evidence that was given in both phases of that inquiry was evidence from the Hon. Iain Evans, member for Davenport, regarding the risk of bushfires in the rapidly urbanised areas of the Mitcham Hills. I think most members of this chamber would understand that the Hon. Mr Evans has long been an advocate for greater recognition of the risks of bushfire in our heavily urbanised hills areas.

In the final report of the bushfire inquiry of the Natural Resources Committee, the Hon. Steph Key, as the presiding member, wrote a very good foreword and I will quote from one paragraph, if I may:

The Committee strongly supports Iain Evans' call for a Standing Committee on Bushfires recommending that it may be opportunistically broadened to consider all Natural Disasters, including bushfires, floods, earthquakes, riverbank collapse, tsunamis, extreme weather events, hazardous material and pollution emergencies, pest plagues and agricultural diseases. We emphasise that this recommendation should not be seen as a criticism of the existing structures in place to deal with natural disasters, or the people involved. Rather, the purpose is to raise the profile of disaster management and provide a mechanism for Members of Parliament to contribute.

In that report I think we noted the evidence from the Hon. Mr Evans and his strong view that a parliamentary committee be established to look at bushfires specifically. I would just like to indicate that, during his second appearance before the Natural Resources Committee in March 2011, committee members questioned whether there was sufficient business relating to bushfires to justify a standing committee. Mr Evans, in the committee, replied:

Absolutely. Look, there are just so many issues that go to the question of bushfire and bushfire prevention. You have building design, the question of safe refuges, the question of whether schools and kindergartens are going to desert or whether the kids are going to stay there, infrastructure capacity, the road infrastructure capacity, safe havens. When they use the word 'safe havens', what the community expects is that, when they roll up to a safe haven, they think they are going to be safe. The reality is that no-one is going to be there, no tent, no first-aid kit; it is just really an area of last resort.

That was taken from the committee transcript, 25 March 2011.

I think that is a valuable quote and, while the committee expressed support for a standing committee, it believed there was a need to broaden that committee to take on all natural disasters. In saying that, I think it is important to recognise that the types of issues that the Hon. Mr Evans referred to in that quote from the committee transcript could be applied to many other natural disasters in addition to bushfires. I think there are many of the things that people expect to be able to access in a situation of floods or many of the other natural disasters that I talked about earlier in my presentation.

As I say, the committee expressed support for a standing committee but took a mind to broaden it, and as such the committee recommended that parliament establish a standing committee for natural disasters. The purpose of this committee would be to ensure that government agencies and emergency services are fully prepared to deal with natural disasters and to provide an opportunity for members of parliament, as opposed to cabinet, to have input into disaster management. That is taken from recommendation 2 of that report.

That recommendation had unanimous support from what is a tripartisan natural resources standing committee. There are four members of the Australian Labor Party, two members of the Liberal Party and three other members who are either Independent or a member of a smaller party. Subsequently, the committee has continued to support that position unanimously, and I recognise the fact that my colleagues from all persuasions have supported the establishment of that committee over a period of time.

The committee has continued its strong interest in the risk of bushfires, particularly in the Adelaide Hills, so close to the metropolitan area. It has published and reported in this place the Bushfire Tour 2012: Case Study—Mitcham Hills. That report has been presented to this chamber. Members of the committee previously visited the Adelaide Hills, which resulted in that case study report, but more recently—only in the last fortnight—the committee has done a tour to Black Hill, Cleland and other areas, looking at the prescribed burn program that the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources has in the public lands in the Adelaide Hills. I must congratulate them on the program in those public lands, but also in lands that are owned by the quarrying industry that are adjacent. I think the committee was impressed with what had been done.

The Hon. Mr Evans initially had drafted a bill to establish a bushfires parliamentary committee. However, he did take note of the thoughts of the Natural Resources Committee that this should be expanded, and he has subsequently presented two bills to the House of Assembly similar to the one I am moving today to establish a natural disasters committee. Unfortunately, both of those were defeated on the floor of the House of Assembly on party lines. In fact, the second of those occasions was quite recently.

There has been a suggestion from some elements of the government that the Natural Resources Committee should pick up the role of examining our preparedness for natural disasters. The committee did not view that in a good sense, I think, or did not see that that was practicable, because the Natural Resources Committee does have a significant amount of work.

We are charged with overseeing not only the levy increases of all the natural resource management boards but also physically going and visiting those boards. As we have learnt in recent times, with our efforts to visit the AW board, it does take a lot of time and effort to get the committee together. I think we are a very active committee, and we did not believe that we could do justice to taking on the role of examining our preparedness for natural disasters.

The functions of the committee, as proposed under the bill, will be to take an interest in and keep under review:

(i) measures that have been taken, or could be taken, to protect life and property from the effect of natural disasters; and

(ii) measures that have been taken, or could be taken, to reduce the incidence of natural disasters; and

(iii) the operation of any Act that relates to natural disasters; and

(b) to inquire into, consider and report on such matters concerned with natural disasters as are referred to under this Act; and

(c) to perform such other functions as are imposed on the Committee under this or any other Act or by resolution of both Houses.

I seek the support of other members of the Legislative Council in the establishment of this committee. I think it is relevant to the work of the parliament and, I think, the future of South Australia.

I should indicate that the bill I have prepared does not make this a remunerated committee. I think there were some suggestions previously that this is just trying to put more feathers in MPs' nests, and that is certainly not my intention. I have also put a measure into the bill that provides that membership of the committee would be an equal number of members from each of the houses. I commend the bill to the house.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. B.V. Finnigan.