Bushfire royal commission releases report with 80 recommendations to reduce effect of future fires
A royal commission into the 2019-2020 bushfire season, which burnt millions of hectares across Australia, has made 80 recommendations to reduce future fires.
SA News
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A national aerial fleet of firefighting aircraft and warlike exercises to practise for natural disasters are among crucial recommendations of the bushfire royal commission.
Building code updates, new rules for people selling homes in “hazard-prone” areas and fresh powers for the Federal Government to declare a state of national emergency have also been proposed.
The commission’s report, released on Friday, makes 80 recommendations following last summer’s bushfires which claimed 33 lives, destroyed more than 3000 homes and devastated Kangaroo Island, the Adelaide Hills, and parts of NSW and Victoria.
More than 24 million hectares were burnt in a horror fire season that raged from July until March.
While states would retain control over responding to natural disasters, new powers would allow the commonwealth to deploy the Australian Defence Force and other resources faster, without a state’s request if necessary.
The report called for a “fundamental shift” in natural disaster management and “resilience”.
“As the events of the 2019-20 bushfire season show, what was unprecedented is now our future,” commission chairman and former Defence Force chief Mark Binskin said.
“Unprecedented is not a reason to be unprepared. We need to be prepared for the future.”
A single fire danger rating system, nationally consistent bushfire warnings, and more standardised evacuation centres across the country were suggested.
Sharing people and resources across state borders was “now critical to responding to national disasters”, as was ensuring emergency response technologies “work seamlessly” between regions.
It called for a national register of firefighting personnel, equipment and aircraft to improve co-ordination and deployment of resources.
The report noted some training differed between the SA CFS and Victorian CFA, “creating an apparent need for double accreditation to operate on both sides of the border”.
New insurance industry guidelines for homeowners to better prepare their homes in exchange for lower premiums were recommended.
Smartphone apps to give real-time information on road closures and better information on fuel loads and hazard reduction were required.
A disaster risk agency to look at ways to adapt to climate change and a set of climate “projections” to help predict future natural disaster risks were advocated.
Mr Binskin makes it clear individuals should have adequate home and contents insurance, “consider carefully where to live and how they should build their homes”, and have plans on how to evacuate and when to stay and defend.
One of the key recommendations was for Australia to acquire a dedicated firefighting aircraft fleet, because the country currently hires planes from other countries.
But the report also notes poor weather conditions during the Cudlee Creek and KI fires “prevented all attempts by aircraft … from containing the forward spread of the fires”.
It said warlike exercises to practise for natural disasters involving multiple agencies across states would test their capacity, capability and co-ordination.
The commission said KI Council acknowledged there was “some confusion” among evacuees on where to move to during an evacuation and “identified the need for better signage” on the island for those circumstances.
Federal Emergency Management David Littleproud will meet his state and territory counterparts, but indicated the Federal Government backed the recommendations.
“We intend to address these recommendations as quickly as we can,” he said, adding the government might announce its response as early as next week. State Attorney-General Vickie Chapman said SA would consider the recommendations.
