Australians are being reassured that authorities are “much better prepared” for this summer compared to the months leading up to the Black Summer fires in 2019 and 2020.
Key points:
- Hundreds of organisations will go through mock scenarios at the National Bushfire Preparedness Summit this week
- Senator Watt said the summit was aimed at ensuring adequate resources and plans were in place
- Authorities have warned of an increased fire risk this summer, especially in northern NSW and Queensland
More than 200 organisations will attend the National Bushfire Preparedness Summit in Canberra on Monday and Tuesday.
State emergency services, charities such as Foodbank and Lifeline as well as businesses including Telstra, Linfox, Westpac and Toll Group will attend.
Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt told Insiders that the aim of the summit was to ensure there were adequate tools, resources and plans in place.
“Australia is much better prepared for this coming season than we were heading into Black Summer,” he said.
“No one can guarantee that we won’t be facing risk, there will always be risk in a country like Australia but we certainly are doing everything we possibly can to be prepared.”
Bushfire preparedness review
It’s the first time governments and the private sector have been brought together ahead of a summer, with the group to undergo a mock scenario on the second day.
The Bureau of Meteorology expects the rest of 2023 to be hot and dry, particularly in the eastern states.
Authorities have warned of increased risk of fire this spring in central and northern New South Wales due to high fuel loads, while Queenslanders have been told to prepare for what’s likely to be the worst fire season since 2020.
Minister defends hazard reduction burns being behind schedule
Concerns have been raised that there has not been enough hazard reduction burns across parts of the east coast ahead of the summer season.
Federal minister and Labor MP for Eden-Monaro Kristy McBain, whose electorate was at the heart of the fires in 2019 and 2020, said people in her area were anxious.
“There is a feeling that we haven’t progressed land management substantially since the Black Summer bushfires and I think that will be a concern to a number of people,” she told RN on Wednesday.
NSW unlikely to see repeat of Black Summer
Senator Watt insisted state fire authorities have done the best that they can.
“I don’t think it’s any surprise that there is a high level of anxiety in communities like that [Eden-Monaro] as we head into another bushfire season,” he said.
“I know the states have done everything they can when it comes to hazard reduction given the incredibly wet circumstances that we have been in over the last couple of years.”
He explained that wet winters in New South Wales and Victoria had delayed some burns and described it as a “challenging” environment but insisted the states were doing their best to “catch up.”
(ABC)
