NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE: BUSHFIRE PREPAREDNESS

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (20:06): I move:

That the report of the committee, on bushfire preparedness of properties in bushfire risk areas, be noted.

On 3 September 2013, the Natural Resources Committee was approached by the Minister for Emergency Services (the member for Napier) to consider the proposal that properties in bushfire risk areas should be subject to bushfire safety inspections at time of sale. This is similar to a proposal considered but not adopted by the City of Mitcham on 28 May 2013. The possibility of mandatory inspections resulted in criticism in the media and from the real estate industry, which sees it as acting as a brake on development.

The Natural Resources Committee heard that the vast majority of houses in the Adelaide Hills would be vulnerable if a bushfire on the scale of the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983 were to recur. Even dwellings built after 2009, which must comply with Australian Standard 3959 for bushfire proofing, are designed to withstand only a fire danger index of 100, and this can be exceeded, as happened in the Canberra bushfires in 2003, the Wangary bushfire in 2005 and the Victorian Black Saturday bushfire in 2009.

Due to time constraints, the committee was, unfortunately, unable to hear from the Real Estate Institute and the Local Government Association prior to the end of the parliamentary session. Members took evidence, however, from a range of witnesses, including the Country Fire Service, the Metropolitan Fire Service, the City of Mitcham, Blackwood/Belair and District Community Association and the Housing Industry Association.

After considering the evidence, the committee concluded that additional measures relating to subdivision planning and community awareness should also be considered to improve bushfire safety. The committee heard that councils have bushfire committees comprising elected members (that is, councillors) and specialist staff and that these committees could potentially take on additional responsibilities. Members heard that council-based bushfire committees have excellent local knowledge and could potentially assist with ensuring that development plans provide for better access and egress for emergency vehicles and local residents.

On days of catastrophic fire risk, however, it is likely that many houses in high-risk areas would not survive a bushfire no matter what level of protection has been afforded them. In these instances, it is important that residents have an opportunity to safely evacuate early in the day and be suitably prepared well in advance to do so. Consequently, the Natural Resources Committee has recommended that the Minister for Planning instruct councils in high fire risk areas to amend their development planning processes to prevent any further cul-de-sac developments, thus ensuring that adequate vehicle access and egress is provided. Further, councils should not be permitted to permanently close off roads without the approval of emergency services.

Residents in high fire risk areas need to have prepared bushfire action plans well in advance of a potential bushfire. Members noted that more than one plan may be required for each household, allowing for different conditions and different circumstances on different days of the week. Unfortunately we heard that the majority of people still do not have bushfire action plans. A good way to encourage households to develop such plans is for the state government to provide a pro forma plan that people can use and amend if required. This would be much easier for people to do than starting from scratch. Residents may also need support preparing their own plans; indeed, the committee heard that local resident groups are proactively supporting residents in preparing their plans, and we applaud those efforts.

Another proposal that the committee supported was the Blackwood/Belair and District Community Association proposal that schools in bushfire risk areas team up with nearby schools—on the plains and in low fire risk areas—that will remain open on days of catastrophic fire risk. This will enable parents to take their children to those schools rather than having to take a day off—

The Hon. T.A. Franks interjecting:

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: It won't work; I have tried many a time. This will enable parents to take their children to those schools rather than leaving them at home or having them turn up to an empty school on a catastrophic fire day.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: Mr President, I cannot even hear myself think, let alone anything else. Where is the protection of the Chair?

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Wortley has the call, and I am listening intently.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: The committee heard that many areas of public land adjoining residential areas in the Mitcham Hills are often not managed for bushfire hazard reduction to local residents' satisfaction. The committee heard that residents consider unmanaged, or little managed, areas with tall, dry grass and fallen trees present a risk to adjoining property owners. Whether this land is managed privately or by local or state government, it is important to be mindful of the risk and ensure it is minimised as much as is practicable, particularly when private residents are being implored to clean up their own properties to reduce bushfire risk. All landholders in the community, especially the larger ones, such as state and local government, need to set a good example.

Finally, the committee was concerned that many people in bushfire risk areas do not have fire insurance. Rather than making this a mandatory requirement, members supported the suggestion of the Hon. Robert Brokenshire MLC that some consideration be given to developing a rebate on fire insurance for people in high fire risk areas who prepare bushfire action plans and lodge them with their insurer. We have recommended that the Minister for Emergency Services give this further consideration.

I acknowledge the valuable contribution of the committee members during the year. Presiding Member the Hon. Steph Key MP, Mr Geoff Brock MP, Mrs Robyn Geraghty MP, Mr Lee Odenwalder MP, Mr Don Pegler MP, Mr Dan van Holst Pellekaan MP, the Hon. Robert Brokenshire MLC, the Hon. John Dawkins MLC, and the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars MLC have all worked well together on this report. Finally, I would like to thank members of the parliamentary staff for their assistance. I commend the report to the house.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (20:13): I will be brief. I rise to commend the Hon. Mr Wortley for his motion, which I support. I think this is another example of the way in which the Natural Resources Committee has worked very hard on a number of issues, particularly anything to do with bushfires. In my earlier speech on the Select Committee into Community Safety and Emergency Services, I think I alluded to the common interest of members of both the select committee and the standing committee in the Cherryville fire, and the impacts of that.

This report also demonstrates the value of site visits. The committee went up and visited some of that area in and around Blackwood and Belair, and the very new subdivision in Blackwood. As the honourable member said, most inappropriate housing estates are being developed around narrow cul-de-sacs next to large belts of native vegetation. These are just fire traps.

It is not just in the depths of the Adelaide Hills. Certainly, I have raised in the committee similar issues about the Angove Park development at Tea Tree Gully, where about 12 months ago there was quite a nasty fire in the middle of a housing subdivision because there is a thick patch of native vegetation and it is very difficult to control the grass in there. We need to take more note of those issues when new subdivisions are being planned next to native vegetation.

With those words, I commend the work of the committee to the council. I also commend the work of minister O'Brien, who certainly sought our views and observations on these matters, and I hope that we get the benefits out of that work. I commend the report to the council.

Motion carried.