Wednesday, 4 February 2026

 Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (14:47): (1486) My constituency question today is for the Premier and comes from residents and the Buloke Shire Council. The question is: why is it that when a bushfire disaster is declared, it is only for specific incidents and/or dates and not the entire bushfire season? This allows some bushfires that have occurred outside date parameters to fall through the cracks, much like the Jeffcott fire on 18 December, which saw 2200 hectares burnt and a house and numerous outbuildings lost. Yes, the damage is much smaller than it was in the catastrophic fires in January, but the impact felt by those property owners is no less, and the impact on the council, who are still waiting on flood recovery money from 2022–23, will certainly be felt by every single ratepayer in Buloke Shire Council.