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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-05-31 Daily Xml
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Extreme Weather Conditions

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Lee.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Ms Lee has the floor.

The Hon. J.S. LEE (14:50): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Emergency Services a question about the statewide power outage.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: On 28 September 2016, as honourable members know, South Australia experienced extreme weather resulting in a statewide power outage. Hospitals, businesses, households and our streets were all left without power, causing chaos, uncertainties and financial losses among South Australians. My question to the minister is: can the minister inform the council whether an educational program to encourage South Australian businesses to develop business continuity programs has commenced?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:51): I appreciate the honourable member's question. Post the substantial and significant weather event that the honourable member refers to in her question, the state government has put in place a range of different works in and around it, but principally what we have seen is the government undertake the Burns review.

The Burns review was a substantial exercise to look at the way South Australia generally, our emergency services and also the community at large, handled that particular event, including the statewide power outage, and what can be done to better prepare ourselves into the future. Whilst the review concluded that the statewide complex event was, in general, well managed with coordinated effective response and recovery options put in place, the state government welcomes the opportunity to strengthen its emergency management arrangements.

The Burns review made 62 recommendations. Work is underway to implement or further examine all recommendations; 42 of the recommendations have been accepted, one has been completed, and 22 are due to be completed by 30 June 2017. There is a range of different works that are already underway, including the development of a state plan for managing the consequences of a statewide power outage, an evacuation plan for the central business district, reviewing updated business continuity plans of government agencies and providing essential services to the community, strengthening planning arrangements with telecommunication providers, and enhanced training and capacity building of emergency services personnel.

A recommendation proposed for the development of a strategy to foster community resilience has also been accepted in principle. The remaining 15 recommendations to be considered involve investing in equipment, infrastructure or systems of a complex nature requiring extensive external consultation. The State Emergency Management Committee will oversee the implementation and further consideration of the recommendations as appropriate and will provide a progress update on 30 July this year.

We are working assiduously in trying to ensure that the Burns recommendations are contemplated and actioned where it is appropriate. I think the honourable member's question should be considered in that context. I am trying to recall whether or not one of those specific 62 recommendations spoke specifically to the area that the honourable member has referred to, and I am happy to go back and assess whether or not one of the 62 recommendations specifically deals with the honourable member's question. If it does, I am more than happy to update her on where that is at.

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