Euroa electorate
Ms RYAN (Euroa) (11:43): (1358) My constituency question is to the Minister for Police and Emergency Services, and I would like to know when government departments and agencies will actually be held to account for failing to meet their obligations for fire prevention and mitigation under the Country Fire Authority Act 1958. I think that 10 years on from Black Saturday, it is deeply concerning to read the reports in the Weekly Times today about the extreme bushfire risk across Mitchell shire. There have been concerns that have been raised with me on several occasions now about the fact that government agencies and departments are not meeting their obligations under the act; in fact they are flouting them or creating their own standards. Councils actually fine residents more than $1600 if they do not comply with those obligations under the CFA act, and it is incumbent on agencies and departments to do similarly and make sure that they are also mitigating the risk to local residents.