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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-10-27 Daily Xml
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MOUNT CRAWFORD FIRE SIREN

Mr VENNING (Schubert) (15:38): Today I raise the important issue of the bushfire hazard that will face our state in a matter of a few days. I first raised the issue of a lack of a fire siren in the Mount Crawford area in this house in July, after being contacted by several constituents concerned about the lack of a fire siren in the area. I again raised the issue during the debate on the Fire and Emergency Services (Review) Amendment Bill in September. To date, no action has been forthcoming, so imagine my surprise when I learnt that, last week, the Minister for Emergency Services, when questioned on radio about the lack of a fire siren in Clare, answered: 'My personal belief is that sirens play an important part.'

I understand that the minister has now asked the CFS to make an assessment about fire sirens right across the state as currently some CFS brigades use sirens and others do not. My question to the minister is: why has this taken so long? Here we are in late October, the fire season is only days away and the minister has just asked the CFS to assess the viability of fire sirens. I do not understand why such an assessment could not have been undertaken throughout the year so that, whatever the outcome, a decision could have been made prior to this bushfire season.

A constituent who has lived at Mount Crawford for more than 35 years wrote to the Premier in January this year outlining the concerns of the community because it does not have a fire siren. He requested that the fire siren be made operational once again. It was once previously located and operated by the local forestry office. Mount Crawford has a state forest and a fire is a real fear to the community. The constituent did not even receive acknowledgment of his correspondence to the Premier, so he contacted me to advocate on his behalf and on behalf of the community.

I wrote to the minister and received a response in May—six months after the initial letter raising the issue. The response stated:

...fire appliances and the crew that service the Mount Crawford area belong to Forest SA...the CFS has stations adjacent to the Mount Crawford area at Williamstown, Forreston and Mount Pleasant. Both Mount Pleasant and Forreston have sirens that are activated according to the CFS siren policy.

During last week's radio debate on the use of fire sirens, South Australia's CFS Chief Officer, Euan Ferguson, explained that CFS sirens were originally used to alert volunteers that there was an emergency and to come to the fire station. He went on to say:

We're changing our policy of sirens and we're saying where there is a working siren, that where the brigade turns out to a rural fire, the siren should be sounded and sounded continuously if there's a bushfire emergency warning issued.

When questioned by the presenter as to whether the use of fire sirens will be sorted out prior to this year's bushfire season, Mr Ferguson answered:

This won't be a short-term issue. We've got a significant number of sirens in various states of repair and there's various sizes and coverages.

I understand what Mr Ferguson is saying but, this being the case, why did the state Rann government not act sooner to commission an inquiry into the use of sirens? It cannot say that it was not aware that fire sirens—particularly in bushfire prone areas—were an issue in the community.

In relation to a lack of a fire siren specifically in the Mount Crawford area, the government has been told about this situation since January this year but has not acted at all to alleviate the concern the community has. Now, here we are, on the cusp of what is predicted to be another hot summer and possibly a bad bushfire season and what has the government done? It is all very well to have a bushfire task force and expect people to have adequately prepared their homes and to have a bushfire plan in place, but without a sufficient warning system we are leaving ourselves wide open to another bushfire with tragic consequences with fires like those that occurred in Victoria happening here.

The bushfire season has already well and truly started in Queensland. Before it starts here in a week or so I implore the Rann Labor government to reinstate the Mount Crawford fire siren and give the community some peace of mind. Sirens are an important part of a rural community, as the member for Hammond and the member for Flinders would know. When it goes off, we can hear our fire siren at Crystal Brook for four or five kilometres. Everyone hears it and knows that there is an emergency. People want this. I cannot understand. I have deliberately put this on the record. I hope I do not have to say or even think, 'I told you so.'

I cannot believe that, for a relatively small cost, the government will not reinstate the fire siren at Mount Crawford. No doubt the foresters will be happy to operate it—turn it on and off; it is probably automatic, anyway. I implore the government to heed this, because as we head into hot weather the community needs this safety.

Time expired.

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