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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-02-11 Daily Xml
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Sampson Flat and Tantanoola Bushfires

The Hon. T.T. NGO (14:48): My question is to the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation. Will the minister tell the chamber about the role the environment department played during the Sampson Flat bushfire?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (14:49): What an excellent question from the honourable member. As the recent Sampson Flat bushfire was quite alarming for many people, I think it illustrates also the courage, commitment and generosity of our firefighters, our volunteers and the local community. It also shows that we are learning from past experience and that our program of prescribed burning and fire management is working. Based on the latest assessment, the fire burned approximately 13,000 hectares of land, destroyed 28 houses, 103 sheds and outbuildings, and six businesses, at last count.

Whilst there were injuries—mainly firefighters, 134 people I think all up—we are of course very fortunate there were no serious injuries or indeed deaths. I would like to sincerely thank everyone involved in fighting this fire. It showed an enormous team effort and cooperation across numerous agencies in the community.

The Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources has played an important role in both fighting the fire and the subsequent recovery and clean-up. Over the seven days that the fire raged, more than 200 DEWNR brigade members supported CFS efforts to contain the fire. On Wednesday 7 January, I visited the fire incident management team at One Tree Hill during a shift change. In total, DEWNR staff contributed about 10,000 hours, I was told, as well as firefighting vehicles and equipment to the fight. They also provided a range of specialist support, including incident management, mapping, air operations, bushfire prediction and fire behaviour specialists.

Once the fire was announced as contained, the difficult work of assessment and clean-up began. While it will take some months to complete a thorough and detailed analysis of the full impact of the bushfire on the environment, initial work identified four priority areas that needed immediate attention: water supply infrastructure, listed threatened species, hollow bearing habitat trees, and Adelaide water supplies. The recovery process is ongoing and the Local Recovery Committee, chaired by Karlene Maywald, with the involvement of representatives from local and state government, will meet regularly to oversee the local recovery effort.

A very important task following such a catastrophic event is to analyse all contributing factors so that we can use the experience to be even better prepared into the future. Preliminary analyses of the fire spread and intensities indicate that DEWNR's ongoing effort regarding fire management and control, including prescribed burning programs, was a contributing factor in the Sampson Flat bushfire not causing more damage than it otherwise could have done. In particular, it appears that the several prescribed burns implemented in the bushfire area helped reduce the intensity of the Sampson Flat fire. Areas of unburnt native vegetation remain intact as a result of prescribed burning activities, in a mosaic pattern I think, and these provide vital refuge for native flora and fauna at times of fire and recovery.

While more detailed analyses will need to be undertaken, it is heartening to know that this early evidence appears to confirm the benefit to the community and the environment of prescribed burning and other fuel reduction strategies. The lessons learned from this and other bushfires will be used to ensure that the prescribed burning program is implemented strategically across the state, including on private land. DEWNR will continue to consult with other agencies, including SA Water, ForestrySA and CFS, to identify opportunities for improving the current collaborative arrangements and approach to all fire prevention strategies.

I would like to sincerely thank all DEWNR staff for their fantastic work. I commend the courage and generosity of all the firefighters, emergency workers, government and non-government organisations, and community members and volunteers who were involved in fighting and recovering from this fire. On behalf of the chamber, if I may, can I say that they have made us all very proud of them and the work that they do.

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