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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-03-02 Daily Xml
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Bills

Fire and Emergency Services (Governance) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Debate resumed.

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (17:17): I rise to make a contribution to the Fire and Emergency Services (Governance) Amendment Bill 2020, of course on the back of the Keelty report, on the back of the devastating 2019-20 bushfire season here in South Australia, and also on the back of, I might say, some experience in combating bushfires and grassfires over my previous life as an agriculture producer on Eyre Peninsula.

Following the devastation of the 2019-20 bushfires, the state government commissioned an independent review to identify how South Australia's response to bushfires can be improved. It was fair and reasonable that we asked questions of ourselves after each and every incident. Of course, it has been well canvassed today, but the season particularly saw fires through the Adelaide Hills, on Yorke Peninsula and at Keilira in the South-East, which the member for MacKillop referred to as the forgotten fire. I do not think it was. Member for MacKillop, I think that the forgotten fire was the one on the outskirts of Port Lincoln, which also occurred during that season.

That said, fires on the outskirts of Port Lincoln have occurred from time to time in the past. I remember the fires in close proximity in late 2008, early 2009 and onwards from there. As well as that, in my own patch on Eyre Peninsula, in the seat of Flinders, there were numerous much smaller fires that were able to be contained during that same summer. Interestingly, the summer that we are experiencing now has had nothing like the extended periods of heat that we saw in the previous summer. Of course, it all comes to influence the bushfire season we have.

The independent review found that the response from our emergency services sector was remarkable. However, there were 68 findings and 15 recommendations as to how South Australia's emergency services capabilities could be improved. The first recommendation relates to an administrative change, and that was the recommendation that the state government consider amending this act we are amending right now to enable the Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services to appoint an independent chair to the SAFECOM board.

In its response to the review, the state government accepted this recommendation, and I understand there is also broad stakeholder and sector support for this independent chair. There will be indexed funding to support that independent chair. The Minister for Police and Emergency Services will be tabling reports in parliament.

As to the government's financial and more broad commitments, we will be building on our $48½ million package that was released earlier this year. The Marshall Liberal government has delivered a further $49 million package to ensure that South Australia is as prepared as possible for bushfire emergencies. I think it is a very specific phrase because we can never be totally prepared, but we need to be as prepared as possible. There is a whole range of parameters that defies that preparedness.

There is a $97½ million package to keep South Australians safe. We are investing this nearly $100 million so that our emergency services staff and volunteers have the resources and support they need to protect lives and property. Importantly, we are boosting support for the CFS by employing nine additional regional staff. Nine does not sound too many, but they will reduce the administrative burden on volunteers and particularly, for the first time, include a permanent CFS staffing presence on Kangaroo Island.

Interestingly, last year there was a trial on Eyre Peninsula of auto vehicle location (AVL). I understand that $5 million was made available for that trial, and it has been successful. I was pleased that we were able to trial this equipment on Eyre Peninsula. While we are on Eyre Peninsula in the seat of Flinders, I was very pleased to welcome the Minister for Emergency Services there most recently about three weeks ago and again, not too long before that, just prior to Christmas. He has certainly shown commitment, particularly to our CFS volunteers in regional areas, there is no doubt about that.

He also took the opportunity to visit the SAPOL and MFS stations within Port Lincoln. You are very welcome, minister. I know the volunteers particularly appreciate your taking the time to speak with them and talk to them about what your plans are for the services. They were also very pleased to demonstrate to you their equipment, which for the most part is really impressive. I know there is always a bit of a wish list going on, but from what I can see the CFS groups were particularly well supported by the equipment provided.

As well as that, there is $7.2 million for new CFS appliances, including 25 new trucks for the 2020-21 bushfire season, so there is an effort by government to continue to upgrade and renew this equipment so that it remains state-of-the-art and up to spec for the job at hand. There is also going to be some retrofitting of CFS vehicles with burnover protection and a rollout of thermal imaging cameras. Of course, this is all in the quest to keep our volunteers safe.

The member for Light, who spoke just prior to this, made particular mention of farm fire units. We are nearing the end of the day, but I would particularly like to talk about farm fire units because I was and am a farmer and have seen how incredibly effective and responsive farm firefighting units can be. The example I will give you is the harvest period, when any part of South Australia's grain belt is wonderfully connected now with mobile phones and UHF radios.

Often, the farm firefighting units come from neighbouring properties or from the property where a fire might have started for whatever reason—it most likely is accidental—and the fire gets away. The response is immediate and quick from the existing and neighbouring properties, and often the fire is under control and out before the CFS is even there in attendance. That said, the CFS often come in, mop up and provide extra water and so on. These are the lesser events, of course, than we saw in the last bushfire season. The bigger fires in the past were beyond the capacity of farm firefighting units, but the units are incredibly important as a first assault on the fires.

It is a lot about fuel load management. I am pleased to see there is $37 million for increased hazard reduction, including prescribed burns on public and private land. It is critical that property owners also make suitable management decisions around fuel load: it may be reducing the fuel load on their properties or installing firebreaks or extra water that could be required later.

My congratulations to the government on their adoption and implementation of the Keelty report. The amendment bill is an important bill. Fire is something that I have been exposed to firsthand. I understand I am still on the volunteer list at Edillilie, although I think it is a while since I have been out on the truck. Come next year, I might need to refresh my level 1 before I am allowed on the truck; I look forward to doing that.

I think the most significant fire I was ever involved with was the Wangary bushfire of 2005. I will not dwell in this place on how the day unfolded; the story is well known. Eighty thousand hectares across Lower Eyre Peninsula were burnt, essentially in a 12-hour period or maybe a little bit longer. From that, as devastating as it was and as critical as it was, we actually saw a change in the way the CFS, the government and the community responded to bushfire. I am going to say that the most significant change that came out of that was the introduction of aerial firefighting capability.

That capability was not there back in 2005 during the Wangary bushfire. Had it been available, I think there could have been a different outcome. It may not have helped us on the particular day of the bushfire, but it may have assisted the day before when the fire first ignited and was wandering around within a swamp. I think aerial capacity, which we did not have then, could have changed that situation. The upshot of it all is that we have had a significant boost in our capability through the introduction of aerial firebombing capability.

I am going to declare an interest here: my son-in-law actually flies for Aerotech. He is a crop duster during the winter-spring cropping season, and of course Aerotech has a contract with the state government to provide that support over the summer.

The plot thickens because one of my boys loads those planes. His ambition is to fly as a crop duster and a firebomber. He is well on the way: he has his low-level rating already, so it is a matter of getting the hours up and having the opportunity to fly. The risks they take, although they are calculated, are quite extraordinary, and the impact that firebombing has on our more general capacity to control fires is really quite remarkable.

With that, I commend the bill and look forward to chairing the committee stage, which I think will be coming up very soon.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services) (17:29): I would like to thank all members who have contributed to the debate on the bill. I also thank the South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission for their work in developing the bill. I would like to reflect back on the comments in the independent review into the 2019-20 bushfire season, which outline SAFECOM's enabling role to allocate resources effectively across the emergency services sector, ensure appropriate levels of strategic and admin support to the emergency services agencies, ensure appropriate risk management systems and practices are in place, and ensure effective consultation with the community in relation to the FES Act.

As we heard, the bill intends to appoint an independent chair to the SAFECOM board. It also provides visibility to parliament on the activities of the State Bushfire Coordination Committee, which has an important role in the strategic oversight and coordination of bushfire management activities.

The government has acted quickly to introduce these amendments to the existing legislation to implement governance and capability improvements. This demonstrates our commitment and appreciation of emergency services volunteers and our commitment to create a safer and more bushfire-resilient community in the future. I thank members on both sides of the chamber for their comments and their support, and I commend the bill to the house.

Bill read a second time.

Committee Stage

In committee.

Clauses 1 to 4 passed.

Clause 5.

Mr ODENWALDER: I want to start with an apology to the minister's advisers for dragging them in for such a short committee stage. As we are all in furious agreement that these are pretty good ideas, my questioning will be pretty brief and pretty simple for the advisers to answer.

Minister, I will start with what might be a policy question, but given that there are very few other questions I hope you might indulge me. I will paraphrase Keelty's words back to you that, given the issues raised during the review about matters falling within the remit of SAFECOM to deliver were central to the issues examined by Keelty, why did SAFECOM and its governance and its structure not form part of the terms of reference given to Keelty in the first place?

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: I thank the member for the question. The terms of reference related to reducing risk across the board and better preparation, better recovery and also making sure that we establish safer communities. Keelty does touch on a number of issues. For example, they talk about a whole range of inaction from previous reviews. They talk about failure to provide automatic vehicle location, a type of technology that has been around for a long time—some say since 2012 but the particular page I am looking at says 2015.

The CHAIR: Any further questions on clause 5, member for Elizabeth?

Mr ODENWALDER: A baffling answer, but I will move on. Can you tell me what the current members of the board are paid individually and what the new chair will be paid?

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: Member for Elizabeth, whilst I do not have that information, I am happy to take that on notice and provide it to the member as soon as possible. I am advised it is in line with DPC guidelines and the new chair will, in fact, be paid.

Mr ODENWALDER: I thank the minister for that answer. Again, this is probably an easy one, and probably has a similar answer. Can you explain the process by which the chair will be appointed and will you, minister, have a role in that appointment directly?

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: I thank the member for the question. In terms of how the new chair will be appointed, certainly it is the view of the government to make sure that we seek the views of the board members and also key stakeholders because we think this is a very important decision. This will also include expert governance advice from the Department of the Premier and Cabinet. Whether it is by ministerial appointment or an advertised process, the government is certainly committed to securing—I am certainly committed to securing—the best possible candidate because this is a very critical role in providing stewardship of what is a very important emergency services sector.

Clause passed.

Clause 6.

Mr ODENWALDER: This clause is about who could be appointed in the absence of the new presiding member. For clarity, can the minister tell me who in the absence of the presiding member can and cannot be appointed to preside?

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: As chair?

Mr ODENWALDER: As chair in the chair's absence, yes.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: I thank the member for the question. I think the question is who will be chair of the board if the chair is not available. The amendment to the legislation allows for any member ex officio or otherwise to be voted to chair in the absence of the presiding member. This again is what I would call certainly an improvement to the current governance arrangements where the chair must be an ex officio member: one of the three chief officers.

Mr ODENWALDER: Not the CE? Just to clarify then—

The CHAIR: Are you seeking clarification?

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: No. Available—not there.

The CHAIR: Is that clear?

Mr ODENWALDER: No, sorry—I am trying to establish if, in the absence of the new presiding member that we are establishing today, can the current CE of SAFECOM, or indeed any CE of SAFECOM, take the chair?

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: Yes, any of the members.

Mr ODENWALDER: Did the current CE or any other board member express any views or indeed oppose this change?

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: I think it is being supported across the board, to the best of my knowledge.

Clause passed.

Clause 7.

Mr ODENWALDER: This is an administrative question, having never been a member of the CFS administration. The current annual report that comes from the State Bushfire Coordination Committee under the current act simply goes to the CFS, as I understand it. Can you explain in practice what happens to that report? In the legislation I understand that it does not have to do anything but what happens in practice? Does the minister see it? Does it get distributed on the SAFECOM board, for instance?

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: In practice, I am informed that it certainly would go to the SAFECOM Board and as a courtesy would also go to the minister for viewing as well.

Mr ODENWALDER: Does it become a public document? Can members of the public access it?

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: I do not believe in the past it always had, but I anticipate that it certainly will in the future as part of this process.

Mr ODENWALDER: Obviously, it will be tabled in parliament, so in that sense it will become a public document then. Given that in the past it has been a private document, essentially an administrative document, now it will become a public document tabled in parliament, was there any concern expressed during the framing of this legislation that that may influence the authors of such a report knowing that it will be a public document rather than a simple private document for the agency? Was that raised as a concern?

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: Not that I am aware of, member for Elizabeth.

The CHAIR: Last question for clause 7.

Mr ODENWALDER: Was there any opposition either from within the CFS or elsewhere to this change at all?

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: Despite a variance of views on other issues, I think on this there was unanimous support, so I say let's lock it in.

Mr ODENWALDER: Excellent. No further questions.

Clause passed.

Remaining clause (8) and title passed.

Bill reported without amendment.

Third Reading

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services) (17:43): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.

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