Bushfire Resilience Day

The Hon. M. EL DANNAWI (14:29): My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services. Will the minister update the council about the importance of Bushfire Resilience Day 2025, which took place last week?

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Autism, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:30): I thank the honourable member for her question. It raises a very good reason to be highlighting this special day. With so many of our volunteer firefighters only recently returned from the firegrounds at Wilmington in the state's Flinders Ranges, we are receiving a timely reminder of the importance of Bushfire Resilience Day. This is a day to reflect upon the distance our firefighting resources have travelled since Ash Wednesday in 1983, which this day was established to remember.

Bushfire Resilience Day is held annually on or around Ash Wednesday's anniversary of 16 February. In South Australia, those fires killed 28 people and destroyed 383 houses with a total damage bill, I am advised, of more than $200 million. While the foundations of the day are based upon the tragedy of Ash Wednesday, Bushfire Resilience Day is also about recognising all lives lost to bushfires in the state, and remembering the efforts of our emergency services and the communities that they support and that have been impacted.

Bushfires have resulted in the significant loss of lives, as well as the destruction and loss of countless homes, pets, belongings, livestock, and other sources of livelihood. Bushfires have also had a lasting mental health impact on affected communities. From each bushfire comes a significant learning opportunity for all, from the government to Country Fire Services, to the South Australian community, always building upon the knowledge base of what has come before.

Even more than 40 years since its tragic ramifications, Ash Wednesday remains a pivotal moment for many, and one that helped shape the CFS that we know today. Since then, the CFS has continuously demonstrated the benefit of a centrally organised, highly trained volunteer base supported by equipment and safe systems of work that enable our members to safely respond to bushfires.

I grew up on the Yorke Peninsula. It gives me great comfort to see that the CFS volunteers who protect my family's community, along with other regional areas across the state, continue to reap the benefits of ongoing training, and equipment and system upgrades. As an example, in 2023, the CFS completed its most significant vehicle upgrade since Ash Wednesday: in the safety systems in all trucks, including in-cabin breathing systems; radiant heat shield windows and curtains; the Halo system that many would have heard of since the KI fires; and tyre spray protection systems.

Further to this, in December last year, the CFS 24 and 34 single-cab trucks, some of which are 30 years old, have been retired from operational services and replaced. All trucks now have a safety system in place that is in line with modern safety requirements and expectations. In recent fire danger seasons, the CFS has also secured the largest number of aircraft ever available to support South Australia during bushfires, with a total, I am advised, of 31 aircraft.

The combination of CFS's upgraded trucks, its well-resourced aerial capacity and also over 13,000 volunteer firefighters ensures that our state is as best protected as it possibly can be through the fire danger season, as we have witnessed at Wilmington.