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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-07-27 Daily Xml
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NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE: BUSHFIRE INQUIRY

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (16:20): I move:

That the 58th report of the committee, on the bushfire inquiry, be noted.

I again preface my remarks by indicating that the preparation of this report largely predated my becoming a member of the committee. However, I was involved in a select committee into the bushfire inquiry, as a member of the House of Assembly, when I was first elected to parliament back in the early 1990s. It was a very interesting committee. Its membership included initially Ted Chapman and Roger Goldsworthy, who both resigned halfway through one of the tours of the committee to make way for Dean Brown, when John Olsen came back to parliament. That alone made it a very memorable inquiry, but I do have a longstanding interest in this issue.

This is the final report of the committee's inquiry into bushfires in South Australia. I am pleased to be able to say that, since the committee's interim report was tabled on 20 November 2009, South Australia has not seen any major bushfires.

Since the interim report, there have been a number of significant developments. For example, July 2010 saw the completion of the royal commission into the Victorian bushfires. The royal commission developed recommendations broadly relevant to South Australia. However, inquiry witnesses also emphasised to the committee the importance of acknowledging the differences between Victoria and South Australia and not expecting all the Victorian recommendations to be relevant to South Australia. For example, committee members heard that South Australia has better building standards, different topography, and that the Adelaide Hills bushfire risk situation more closely resembles Canberra than Victoria, suggesting that lessons learnt from the Canberra fires are more relevant to us here.

Members would be aware that, in the recent state budget, the Treasurer, the Hon. Jack Snelling MP, announced $23 million of funding to help protect South Australians from the impacts of bushfires. These funds will improve the bushfire readiness and response capabilities of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, with funds to be spent on employing 56 firefighters, purchasing new equipment and providing additional resources and accreditation training to CFS and State Emergency Service volunteers. Members of the Natural Resources Committee strongly support this allocation of additional funds towards managing bushfires.

In finalising this report, the Natural Resources Committee sought additional evidence on natural disasters and followed up issues outlined in the interim report, including verge parking in the Mitcham Hills. The interim report suggested allowing verge parking, which is presently illegal under national road rules, in preference to kerb parking. Members felt that allowing verge parking was a common-sense approach to reducing road congestion and facilitating access for fire units and emergency services during the fire danger season. Two years later, verge parking is still not strictly legal but remains generally unenforced in the Mitcham Hills if done in a sensible way.

On a similar matter, committee members were pleased to hear that the Mitcham council had implemented a trial involving painting a solid yellow line to indicate no parking down one side of narrow roads identified by the CFS as likely to present fire unit access problems in the event of a bushfire. The committee applauds Mitcham council and the CFS for implementing this simple, common-sense and potentially lifesaving measure and looks forward to seeing it expanded to cover other high-risk roads in the Mitcham Hills in the lead-up to the fire danger season. Committee members understand that presently 15 streets out of a potential 47 streets identified by the CFS have been marked up.

The Hon. Iain Evans MP met with the committee in March of this year, again outlining his serious concerns about a general lack of community preparedness to respond to bushfires in the Adelaide Hills. He recounted how, during a recent fire in Belair, people rang his office, amazed that the CFS was not at the top of their driveway, to which he responded that there were 10,000 homes and only 15 fire units.

The Hon. Mr Evans also reiterated his concern to members about the potential for disaster should large numbers of people attempt to evacuate the Hills too late, as fire and smoke was upon them, via a road system that is narrow, winding and choked at the best of times. The committee, of course, hopes this will never happen, but it seems that, with the present level of public awareness and preparedness, it is only a matter time.

The Hon. Mr Evans also stressed the potential for blocked railway crossings to drastically reduce people's escape options. The committee shares the honourable member's concerns and strongly supports his call for a standing committee on bushfires, recommending that consideration be given to broadening such a committee to consider all natural disasters, including bushfires, floods, earthquakes and extreme weather.

Members of the Natural Resources Committee have emphasised that this recommendation should not be seen as a criticism of existing structures in place to deal with natural disasters or the people involved; rather, the purpose of a new standing committee would be to raise the profile of disaster management among members and the wider community and to provide a mechanism for members of parliament to contribute to the discussion.

I wish to thank all those who gave their time to assist the committee with its inquiry. The committee heard evidence from 20 witnesses and received 21 written submissions. I commend former and current members of the committee: the Presiding Member, the Hon. Steph Key MP; the Hon. John Rau, the former presiding member; the Hon. Graham Gunn MP; the Hon. Caroline Schaefer MLC; the Hon. Lea Stephens MP; the Hon. David Winderlich MLC; the Hon. Russell Wortley MLC; Mr Geoff Brock MP; the Hon. Robert Brokenshire MLC; the Hon. John Dawkins MLC; Ms Robyn Geraghty MP; Mr Lee Odenwalder MP; Mr Don Pegler MP; and Mr Dan van Holst Pellekaan MP for their contribution. All members of the committee have worked cooperatively throughout the course of this inquiry and, finally, I thank the members of the parliamentary staff associated with this committee for their assistance. I commend the report to the council.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (16:26): I rise to support the motion and thank the Hon. Mr Holloway again, as I said in the last motion, for speaking to the matter very well, despite the fact that he has only just joined the committee.

The issue of bushfires in this state is one that I think we are all very well aware of and, in particular, the reference to the concern of members of parliament and other community members about the potential disaster of serious bushfires in the Adelaide Hills, is one that is well made. I take on the concerns that were put by the Hon. Iain Evans, the member for Davenport, as he and his family well know the aspects of the Adelaide Hills and the manner in which bushfire behaviour is quite different to other parts of the state.

It was in the Ash Wednesday events of both 1980 and 1983 that I got a very quick lesson in fire behaviour in the Adelaide Hills. I was someone who had been a CFS volunteer for some time but, as I described myself and my colleagues, I was a flat country firefighter, and to go and fight fires in such hot and windy conditions in the Adelaide Hills was something completely different.

In fact, I will never forget that in 1980 we were up at Vimy Ridge and the path of the fire had changed 180 degrees in an instant through a gully wind change and, to this day, I remain amazed that we survived the passage of that fire as it went very quickly through the area where we were parked in our truck. The first attempt to start the truck failed but, thankfully, the second time it worked and we got out of there, but every time I hear about people being burnt in a fire truck I relate back to that. It was a long time ago now but I remember it very well.

The nature of fighting fires and also of protecting properties from bushfire in the Adelaide Hills is something that I think is important for us not only as a parliament but as a community to understand better and better as much as we can. Of course, that is not to diminish the impact of bushfire right across the state. I know, Sir, from your background in the pastoral areas and in the South-East that it can be devastating. In particular, the Ash Wednesday fires in the Lower South-East were a terrible event. The Hon. Mr Evans did meet with the committee earlier in the year, as outlined by the Hon. Mr Holloway, and he passed on his concerns about the potential impacts of major fire in what is a growing population area and an area with more and more people who have never experienced fire in the Adelaide Hills.

The committee shared the honourable member's concerns and strongly supported his call for a standing committee, but we went further and recommended that consideration be given to broadening the committee to consider all natural disasters—obviously including bushfires, but also floods, earthquakes and extreme weather. While members in their deliberation wanted to emphasise that this recommendation is not seen as a criticism of existing structures, we believe that a new standing committee focused on those matters could raise the profile of disaster management among the parliament in the wider community and also importantly provide a mechanism for other members of parliament to contribute to the discussion.

I am pleased to note that the member for Davenport, as a result of the recommendation of this committee, has had drafted a private member's bill, which I understand he will move in the House of Assembly this week, entitled Parliamentary Committees (Natural Disasters) Committee Amendment Bill 2011. Given the bipartisan nature of the committee, and its support for that recommendation, I hope the government sees fit to support the establishment of that committee because I think it will be a valuable one for South Australia.

I conclude by again thanking all members, past and present, of the Natural Resources Committee for their work in this area under the chairmanship of the Hon. Steph Key and also thank the staff of the committee. I commend the report to the council.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.M. Gazzola.

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