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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 1 Hansard (30 January) . . Page.. 22 ..

MR WOOD (continuing):

ACT Policing rapidly established a comprehensive databank of damaged and destroyed properties to facilitate efficient processing of insurance claims. Police have also been responsible for gathering forensic evidence and other material for the coroner and for other reasons. They have done, as we would expect, a remarkable job.

Time prevents the detailing of the roles of other agencies in my responsibilities, but I commend them all for their enormous effort, professionalism and dedication in the face, in too many circumstances, of significant personal loss of homes and other property while fighting the fires.

ACT Forests staff are a core of our firefighters. ACT Forests have lost most of their forest but not, I stress, a job. They are now totally engaged in a remarkable salvage operation. That is dedication.

I must mention the staff at Canberra Connect. They played a major role in conveying up-to-date information on the bushfire's status. Over 52,000 calls were taken by Canberra Connect over a period of 10 days. Canberra Connect also received 180,000 visits on the ACT bushfire status website during that period. That is remarkable.

To cover that, the bureaucracy got together. Staff from ACT Libraries went in there to help. Members would appreciate, as they have seen the city, the massive effort to remove fallen and cut-down trees and shrubs. It has been an immense job. Some 500 truckloads of green waste has been removed and put where it should be. Streets and bridges have been cleared and traffic lights are working again. Of course, we know about the marvellous work of ActewAGL. Our city rangers have had the awful task of disposing of burnt carcasses. Our parking inspectors went to Tidbinbilla to assist in that regard.

Beyond the lives lost, of course, housing has suffered the greatest. We have lost 81 government houses, but the professionalism has come through again as we have moved to put the occupants of those houses back into housing. We are supporting not only public tenants but also private tenants in that way. That great agency ACT Housing is working to provide that essential roof over the head. Their officers were at the evacuation centres for 24 hours a day and they have been present at the recovery centre.

Let us look at what people in Disability Services did. They evacuated 82 clients. That was a complex task. They went out and cared for 82 clients in the period of highest danger. That is typical of what has happened over the whole area.

Finally, I refer to an outcome of these fires. If it was ever in doubt, ACT self-government has come of age. At both a political and a public service level, the response to the crisis has been outstanding. The degree of professionalism, dedication and commitment is of the highest order. In particular, let me refer to the public service and leave the politicians out. The advice, the responses, the speed of the responses, and the effort of those in the ACT government service have clearly demonstrated that we have a service equal to a service anywhere. I congratulate them.

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