Bushfire preparedness
Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (12:22): (427) My question is also to the Minister for Emergency Services. Minister, two small lightning strikes and a lack of suitable air-response resources last Tuesday let fires grow and caused huge losses in Western Victoria, which is my electorate. My question is: what additional firefighting aircraft are allocated to the extreme risk regions ahead of tomorrow’s predicted dangerous conditions?
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:22): Mr McCracken, I do not purport to be a person that can determine what you have alleged to believe is the cause of fires or the spread of fires in your region, so to make an assertion that aerial fleet deployment is something that you think was wrong is not something that I think you are qualified to assert. Having said that, I have responded to the incidents of 13and 14 February in relation to deployment around the state. I have not received advice about where planes and choppers are ahead of tomorrow, because I trust that the experts are making those decisions today. The assets are not all at one place permanently anyway – they are at Ballarat, they are at Avalon, they are at Stawell, they are at Moorabbin. There are different homes for them, and they get strategically moved around the state, responding to risk.
Tomorrow’s weather is looking extreme for the Wimmera and for parts of the central and south-west regions, which is where the experts will be focused on tomorrow, making sure that our brigades are ready, making sure that all of the support is available for those communities where we know there will be a high risk. Off the back of last week’s weather, we know that there is further drying of particularly grasslands, so grassfires are a particular focus for our agencies tomorrow. Aerial fleet are a very good asset to respond to grassfires because they move very quickly. Air attacks are a great way to attack those fires because it is a bit more difficult for some of our vehicles to be able to keep up with those, so it is an additional asset that I am sure will be deployed by the experts to the areas of risk.
Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (12:25): Thank you for that response, Minister. Will you provide the house with a copy of the air operations plan before the close of business today – yes or no?
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:25): Mr McCracken, you are seeking an answer outside of the standing orders. However, I do not have a problem with providing information about the amazing work that our emergency services do in relation to preparing for and responding to high-risk weather incidents, and I am more than happy to come back to you and provide you with as much information as I possibly can in relation to the preparedness for tomorrow.
Members interjecting.
Jaclyn SYMES: The air operations plan is not a static document. It might change in the morning depending on what the bureau tell us.
Members interjecting.
Jaclyn SYMES: If you want a career change and to become an aerial expert, then perhaps go and do that. I am not the aerial expert. I rely on the information that I get from –
Members interjecting.
Jaclyn SYMES: I can assure the community that the communities are safe. We have an asset range that go from the ground to the air, which will be – (Time expired)