Community spirit on show as nation meets fire fury

“The old year went, and the new returned, in the withering weeks of drought,’’ Henry Lawson wrote 120 years ago in his poem, Outback. Weather conditions are at least as harsh today as Australians begin the new decade grieving loved ones who have perished in the bushfires. Families are gutted, waking up to a new year without their homes, family pets and livelihoods. Mid-morning on Tuesday, the last day of 2019, felt and looked surreal as holiday-makers and residents of seaside areas of Victoria and southern NSW huddled on beaches, cut off as towns were ringed by menacing flames. Some were told to head into the sea to safety; others leapt into boats to escape. Many blazes proved too powerful for water helicopters and lion-hearted volunteers to beat down. Summer in Australia is often the season of natural disasters. This season, intense heat worsened the effects of long-running droughts, turning tinderbox scrub into wildfires. In other years, under different weather cycles, rivers and dams have burst their banks from floods, submerging homes, farms and towns. Cyclones often unleash their fury later in the season, flattening homes and crops and pushing communities’ resilience to the limits.

The Morrison government’s payments to volunteer firefighters of up to $300 a day tax-free are a worthwhile start in a recovery process that will necessitate months and years of rebuilding after heavy property losses, especially in Victoria and NSW but also in other states. Broken hearts take longer to heal. In the face of disaster and countless acts of heroism that have saved lives and homes, Australians’ community spirit has come to the fore. This is evident not only through the assistance being provided by government bodies but also by not-for-profit agencies and corporate, family and individuals’ generous support of bushfire and drought appeals. Beyond the current salvage operations and rebuilding, careful decisions will need to be made in the coming year, at state level with federal support, about investment in upgraded firefighting equipment. At state and local government level, landclearing regulations need to be overhauled to prevent the build-up of scrub and excessive fuel loads that have exacerbated conditions in many areas.

Despite the traumatic start with fires and drought, Australia, in general, is well placed to look to 2020 with confidence. Recent national accounts showed Australians are more prosperous than at any time in our nation’s history — we are now worth $428,600 on a per capita household basis compared with $270,000 a decade ago. The jobs market is strong, with the creation of 40,000 new jobs in November reducing unemployment to 5.2 per cent. Employment growth, as Treasurer Josh Frydenberg noted this week, is now faster in Australia than in the US, Canada and the eurozone and more than double the OECD average. As a consequence, welfare dependency is at its lowest level in 30 years, with those who have been able to move from social security to jobs experiencing renewed quality of life. But there is no room for complacency. Despite calls from the Reserve Bank and the opposition to bring forward infrastructure spending to stimulate the economy, the Morrison government has followed the correct course in its determined pursuit of a return to surplus for the first time since 2007-08, before the GFC. This is being achieved despite softening iron ore prices. A surplus, as Deloitte partner Chris Richardson said last month, was “recession insurance”. It also allows room for government to devote greater resources to vulnerable Australians in need of greater support. In July, release of Treasury’s next five-yearly intergenerational report will set out the challenges of meeting the needs of our ageing population, underlining the need for fiscal prudence.

More than ever in the third decade of the 21st century, the Australia-US alliance will remain the cornerstone of our national security. As the Prime Minister’s visit to Donald Trump in September highlighted, the relationship also offers impressive opportunities for Australian business. After posting the first current account surplus since 1975 in September, the government is in a position to strengthen the nation’s trading relationships. As reported on Wednesday, major tariff cuts under free-trade deals with China and South Korea, as well as the Trans-Pac­ific Partnership, take effect from now, boosting exports by an estimated hundreds of millions of dollars this year. Despite strategic tensions and sharply contrasting approaches to human rights, Australia’s effective economic relationship with China, our largest trading partner, will continue to be vital this year. From January 13, Australia and India will embark on new negotiations for a free-trade agreement when Scott Morrison visits New Delhi. Britain’s exit from the European Union should hasten an Australia-UK free-trade agreement. The recently ratified Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement should increase two-way trade with our northern neighbour, to the benefit of Australian farmers who can meet the market for quality produce.

After having no prime minister complete a full term over the past decade, coming years offer the promise of much-needed stability as Australia faces demanding strategic, regional and economic challenges. We wish readers a happy and prosperous New Year.