Tuesday, 3 October 2023

Bushfire preparedness

Martin CAMERON (Morwell) (13:07): It is the first week of October and already bushfires are wreaking havoc across Gippsland. Emergency warnings are blaring over local radio stations, and overnight a fire in Briagolong doubled in size. People have been forced to evacuate, homes have been lost and those staying behind to protect their properties have been told it is too late to leave. Gippsland endured the Black Summer of 2019–20, and the scars of Black Saturday in 2009 are still fresh. We are now being told to brace for another catastrophic bushfire season.

Because of Labor’s nonsensical closure of the sustainable native timber industry, our bushlands have not been maintained and we have an abundance of fuel, exposing us to unacceptable risk. Residents in towns with only one way in and one way out have contacted my office with grave concerns, because their only escape route is now a deathtrap of overgrown bushes and trees. Our local CFA brigades, who selflessly put their lives on the line every summer, have been left to go it alone, doing their own fundraising to upgrade facilities that are not fit for purpose, because Labor refuses to appropriately fund our volunteer firefighting organisations. CFA numbers are also down. Some 10,000 volunteer firefighters fled the CFA during the former Premier’s time in office. This is not a coincidence. Premier, our regions are suffering the consequences of Labor’s inaction. What will you do to ensure we do not have another Black Saturday?