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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-11-17 Daily Xml
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BUSHFIRE BUNKERS

The Hon. S.G. WADE (15:01): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Urban Development and Planning a question relating to bushfire bunkers.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: On 21 October, the Minister for Consumer Affairs released a media statement on bushfire bunkers, expressing the government's concerns that consumers are being misled by some traders claiming that their bunkers meet an Australian standard for the product, despite there being no standard in place. In response to a question in this place the following week, the minister stated that the government had 'prepared and distributed a comprehensive cautionary note that outlines a whole range of complex issues that need to be considered if a person wishes to purchase or construct a bushfire bunker'. The cautionary note imposes no mandatory requirements.

Last Wednesday, the Victorian planning minister issued a media release entitled 'Bushfire shelters to require building permits', which reads in part:

Victorians who choose to build a bunker or private bushfire shelter on their property will be required to adhere to new regulations. Planning minister Justin Madden today announced interim regulations and an accreditation process for construction of bunkers or bushfire shelters, which will come into effect immediately and provide clarity to Victorians until proposed new national standards are introduced next year. If people do choose to construct a bunker or private bushfire shelter, they will be required to obtain a building permit and adhere to regulations and an accreditation process.

My questions are:

1. Given minister Madden's assertion that it is absolutely vital that people considering building a bunker or private bushfire shelter are aware of the risks and requirements, will the government introduce interim planning regulations on bushfire bunkers?

2. So as to minimise any delay, will the minister consult with the Minister for Emergency Services on whether the Victorian regulations could be adopted in South Australia pending the availability of national standards?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (15:03): I was at the building ministers' forum in Melbourne last Friday. Minister Madden was also there, and he outlined the procedures he was taking, because clearly there is a need, which was reinforced at the forum, that we have national standards in relation to bunkers. I think my colleague the Minister for Local Government made clear in her answer several weeks ago that, until those national standards come out (and I believe a committee is working on them and that Mr Euan Ferguson, the head of the CFS, is playing a key role in relation to that matter, at least from the CFS side of things), we need a standard from the Australian Building Codes Board that applies to such structures.

The government believes that the approach we have taken—a cautionary approach—is the appropriate way to proceed. If one looks at minister Madden's statement, one will see that he concedes that what they are doing in Victoria essentially is an interim measure until a national standard comes out. These are matters that the government has considered closely. There were discussions earlier this year between a number of ministers involved, including myself, the Minister for Emergency Services and others in relation to that. As a result of those decisions, this cautionary note in relation to bunkers and shelters was issued. We advise people that they should be very careful with them if they are determined to build bunkers and ensure that they are not ovens in which they are cooked. The dilemma is that, until we have a proper national standard, there is a danger that anything the government advises may not be sufficient. In any case, if someone had built one of these shelters it might be that when this standard came out—hopefully some time early in the new year—the shelter might not comply.

At this stage, the government's position is that it is doing everything it can to support the development of a national code, and South Australian input, through the individuals that we have, will be significant. However, at this stage, and until we have that code, the government believes that issuance of the cautionary note, and advice to people in relation to that, is the best stand it can take.

As I said, I was given a copy of the information provided by minister Madden in Victoria last week. The department will certainly look at that, but at this stage the government does not propose to deviate from its previous position—that is, to issue the cautionary note on shelters but support development, as rapidly as it can be done, by the national authorities of an appropriate standard in relation to those shelters.

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