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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-11-14 Daily Xml
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TULKA BUSHFIRE

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (15:06): My question is to the Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion. Could the minister please update the house on his visit to the fire grounds near Tulka yesterday and the recovery efforts in place to help those affected by the blaze?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (15:06): The honourable member will be pleasantly surprised to know that I can and, more importantly, that I will.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: I am, David, and I may be to you yet again in due course. The Minister for Emergency Services (Hon. Jennifer Rankine) and I travelled to Port Lincoln on Monday afternoon and were briefed on our arrival on a number of fires that were still burning on various sections of the Lower Eyre Peninsula. The coordination between all the emergency services—the members of the CFS, SES, SAPOL and MFS—was truly outstanding and a credit to everyone who put their lives at risk battling fires on pastoral land and some scrub areas.

Although properties were lost in the fire near Tulka, about 12 kilometres south of Port Lincoln, our volunteers managed to prevent what could have become a larger disaster. I am sure that everyone in this chamber will join me in extending our sincere thanks to the men and women from those agencies—the CFS, SES, MFS and SAPOL—who have worked tirelessly over many days. Members will also note, of course, as was mentioned earlier today, the orange tie that the very, very sartorially elegant President is wearing today—and I am attempting to echo—in honour of Wear Orange to Work day for the SES Week.

On Monday night I visited Housing SA in Port Lincoln to ensure that staff there had all the resources they required to deal with people who had either been displaced or who somehow had been affected by the fires and needed assistance. Housing SA, of course, is the agency tasked with the responsibility of establishing the emergency relief centre at the local bowling club.

The leaders of the fire response team in the emergency centre wanted to make a point to me to pass on their thanks to the staff of Housing SA for their exemplary work in setting up that emergency centre. They staffed it immediately. They staffed it till after midnight, and fortunately and luckily no members of the public needed to take advantage of the services that they were providing that day and that evening.

I immediately authorised emergency payments that the government makes available to people in these circumstances. This includes a one-off payment of $700 per family affected, emergency accommodation grants, if necessary, and also the availability of substantial funds for essential household contents and for some structures that may not have been insured. We are working with the emergency services to make sure that these people are looked after should they need counselling or other forms of support. Over the last 24 hours I am told that three families have so far sought help from Housing SA.

I was also told anecdotally that one of the clients who came into Housing SA was telling their story to counter staff and making application to us for some relief. There was another member of the public in the office at the time waiting her turn to make application as well. She heard the story of the first person at the counter, left the office, went down to Woolworths and bought a $100 Woolworths gift voucher, came back and handed it over to the person in Housing SA and said, 'You need this more than I do. Please take it, and know that the community is behind you.' I think that is just an indication of the support that is in the local community of Port Lincoln for those who are facing adversity due to this natural disaster.

I toured the fire ground with CFS members, along with minister Rankine and the local member, Mr Peter Treloar, who is also I understand the shadow minister for emergency services. The impact of the blaze and the extent of its damage were quite confronting. The fire had ripped through more than about 1,800 hectares of private pastoral land, which was fringed by some scrub, I understand, and in its destructive path it decimated one house, 14 holiday-let cabins and a campervan, a caravan, several sheds and large amounts of fencing and four cars. I understand also anecdotally—I have not had it confirmed yet—that some amount of livestock damage was suffered as well.

One of the residents of the cabins—Malcolm is his name—told us that he had lived there for 20 years and could only look on helplessly as the blaze tore through the property, destroying his home and neighbouring holiday cabins. He said there was nothing he could do. He said, 'I always thought it would happen one day; I just didn't think it would happen to me. I've lost everything.' With no insurance Malcolm is now staying at a nearby cabin with no power, no food and his pet chihuahua. Housing SA immediately arranged for emergency supplies and food and some essential personal items to be delivered to him, and they are now liaising with him about helping with other safer accommodation options, should he wish to take them up.

We also went to the assembly point (or tent city, as it is often called) to meet with and express our gratitude to the exhausted volunteers and members of the fire service, many of whom worked for more than 24 hours straight. Men and women from the CFS, the environment department and MFS were extremely courageous and relentless on their front-line duties. I met with members from the Aldinga CFS and also the Tea Tree Gully CFS who told me of their 12-hour shifts, making sure the fires were burning inside the containment lines. Had it not been for their skill and dedication, the devastation to the community could have been greater.

Fortunately for everyone involved the winds abated yesterday and milder conditions enable crews to continue to maintain control lines and begin the mopping-up process. I understand the cause of the fire and the damage bill from the blaze are still being assessed, but again I place on record my thanks to all the volunteers who came to the support of their local community in time of need.

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