Page 519 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 13 February 2013
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bushfire warnings released in 2009. The plan identifies a wide range of activities for bushfire prevention, preparedness, response and recovery, which required additional funding to undertake key programs identified in the plan.
I pay tribute to the tremendous efforts of the ACT Parks and Conservation Service within the Territory and Municipal Services Directorate. Under the strategic bushfire management plan, the Parks and Conservation Service undertake hazard reduction activities and fight bushfires, through the parks brigade, across the ACT. The parks brigade is an integral member of the ACT’s bushfire fighting capability and their contributions should be recognised. The efforts of the parks service and the brigade are a clear indication of how they, ACT Fire and Rescue and the ACT Rural Fire Service work in a close, collaborative and cooperative manner.
Further, under the Emergencies Act 2004, some land managers are required to prepare bushfire operational plans that are consistent with the policies and strategies in the SBMP. These plans identify detailed actions, such as hazard reduction, trail maintenance and grazing, that land managers would undertake to meet bushfire management requirements.
A series of important emergency plans have been developed or updated. From a whole-of-government perspective, the ACT emergency plan describes the responsibilities, the authorities and the mechanisms to prevent—or, if they occur, manage—emergencies and their consequences within the ACT in accordance with the requirements of the Emergencies Act 2004.
The community communication and information plan is an approved subplan of the ACT emergency plan. It clearly outlines how the government will communicate with the public when there is a threat of an emergency or an actual emergency in the territory. It details the processes for all communications staff across the government to come together to work as one with emergency services media teams to ensure a single point of truth for the dissemination of all public information during a major incident.
There has been a greater focus on community preparedness and resilience since 2003. In addition to the work undertaken by the emergency services agencies, the Community Services Directorate has worked with a number of community organisations and provided them with the tools to work with their vulnerable clients to educate them about emergencies and develop their emergency plans.
Neighbour Day, which this year falls on 31 March, is promoted as an opportunity to connect with your neighbours to watch out for each other and be ready for an emergency. A number of community organisations, including Neighbourhood Watch, are involved in promoting this concept.
Planning for an equestrian evacuation centre was implemented during the recent high fire danger period. The concept is to provide horse owners with a safe haven for their horses, enabling them to relocate animals before a fire occurs. This initiative of the ACT Equestrian Association, the Community Services Directorate, EPIC and the Rural Fire Service was well received by horse owners in Canberra and may ultimately reduce the risk of human injury by pre-emptively removing the animals and their owners from potential danger.
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