Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 1 Hansard (30 January) . . Page.. 36 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

Reading the recommendations of that 1995 report, there appear to be serious questions about their implementation, in particular the need to identify particularly vulnerable areas and work with the community to educate them on how to live in such a place. The application of special building codes in bushfire hazardous areas is a key consideration at this time. I was glad to hear Mr Corbell say this morning that he is going to look at that question. I hope he does so urgently, because people, understandably, want to rebuild now. They want to rebuild their lives as soon as possible. So government needs to assist in lessening the impact of fire in the future by sensitively working with the community to apply the good sense of the recommendations of the 1995 report. I say "sensitively"because I know from talking with people that there is resistance to change. I understand that. They want to be able to rebuild exactly what was there before. So there are issues for us to deal with.

In any inquiry regarding this year's fires we would also want to know what advice ACT authorities had on the seriousness of the fires when they were still in the mountains, how our firefighting resources were deployed, what assistance was offered to the territory, when that assistance was drawn on, how effective the command structure was, how well firefighters in the field were supported, how evacuation was handled, how well other aspects of the emergency plan worked, how well ActewAGL were linked in to the emergency plan, and whether there was enough flexibility in the hospital, at the sewerage works and in the Fire Brigade to handle these extraordinary events.

There are a lot of stories of people fighting the fires in extraordinary circumstances, of information getting through and not getting through. (Extension of time granted.) A lot of these stories will impact on our understanding of the events. The review or inquiry needs to be open to this contribution if the people of Canberra are going to believe it has taken everything into account.

I commend the government for their work in setting up the recovery centre. This important facility will be needed for some time.

Particular issues have come up in meetings I have attended, particularly in Duffy. Asbestos is of concern to a lot of people, particularly after the community meeting that Ms Gallagher referred to, which Simon Corbell and I attended. There is quite a lot of fear in the community about the danger of asbestos and concern about what the community needs to do. Will uncleared sites be a hazard? Will all contractors be licensed as asbestos removalists? Will they be dampening sites to ensure that dust is not a worry for people who are extremely traumatised?

I was not involved personally in the fire area, but dealing with vulnerable people in my own neighbourhood gave me a sense of how people felt. I have since talked to a lot of people at Duffy who were in the middle of the fire and who want to tell their stories. I also spent half an hour with Brendan Smyth yesterday, listening to him talk in detail about his experience fighting the fires and the trauma of that. I understand Simon Corbell was fighting fires too. I commend Brendan for his work. His account gave me some insight into the pain of being on the front line.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .