Page 3454 - Week 09 - Thursday, 20 August 2009
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
The forecast is not a good one in terms of the fire weather potential. For that reason, I was very pleased to table in the Assembly only earlier in the week a substantial independent audit by the ACT Bushfire Council of the actions that the ACT government has taken to ensure we are implementing the recommendations of the coronial inquiry and the McLeod inquiry into the 2003 bushfires.
What that audit has found is that 108 of the 122 agreed recommendations have been implemented by the government. That is not the government saying this, Mr Speaker. It is the independent ACT Bushfire Council. For that reason, I think it is incumbent on the Liberal Party to apologise to the Canberra community for their continued misleading of the community when they say that we are no better off than we were before 2003.
How can they say that when the ACT Bushfire Council itself has confirmed that the government has implemented over 88 per cent of all the recommendations made by the coroner and by Mr McLeod? How can they stand up and with straight faces claim that nothing has changed when the ACT Bushfire Council itself in its independent report has confirmed that this government has implemented over 88 per cent of those recommendations?
I draw to the attention of members the comments by Mr Kevin Jeffery, who is the chairman of the ACT Bushfire Council. He said, and I quote from the Canberra Times of yesterday:
There’s always things to improve and thus why our report shows there is action required on a number of issues, but—
and I want to emphasise this—
we are on the improve.
So the claims made the Liberal Party lack substance, they lack honesty and they lack any relevance when it comes to a serious analysis about preparedness.
I note that Mr Smyth has hitched his bandwagon to the fact that the second supertanker for the RFS fleet is yet to be delivered. Of course, I would draw to Mr Smyth’s attention that only two weeks ago I handed over to eight RFS brigades eight new medium tankers for those volunteer brigades that were delivered consistent with the ACT fleet replacement program for emergency services and that the government has confirmed that over the next three months a further eight heavy tankers will be delivered to those RFS brigades. So Mr Smyth can pick one vehicle if he wants, Mr Speaker, but he had better pay attention to the other 16 that have arrived or will arrive shortly. (Time expired.)
MR SPEAKER: Ms Porter, a supplementary question?
MS PORTER: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Minister, how does the strategic bushfire management plan relate to our preparedness?
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .