PM leads with reservists, firebombers, recovery plan

It was slow coming. But the Morrison government is now providing the national leadership Australia’s bushfire emergency demands. Some of the communications surrounding weekend announcements were inept. NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons should have been told that Canberra was committing 3000 army reservists to help fight the blazes rather than having to find out from television. That communication breakdown became even more embarrassing for Scott Morrison when it became clear his staff had found time to make a social media video promoting the government's response to the fires. But the last thing fire-ravaged communities need is a blame game. In light of the significant initiatives that have been taken, such bungles were minor. What matters is what is being done. Despite being roundly criticised for being uncharacteristically tin-eared in handling the issue, Mr Morrison is beginning to turn the situation around. He needed to do so.

On Saturday, at the National Security Committee of cabinet, the government flicked the switch from responding to the requests of states, which are responsible for disaster management, to launching important initiatives of its own. These included the reservists’ boots on the ground, the funding of four more waterbombing aircraft, deployment of extra defence equipment, including HMAS Adelaide — which has arrived off the NSW south coast to help with recovery efforts from the town of Eden — and opening army bases for emergency short-term accommodation. The ADF is in for the long haul, a commitment that should help allay the fears of those in the fire paths. While mainly symbolic, Mr Morrison’s relocating his family to Canberra was a good move. There, he will receive daily ADF briefings. Smoke shrouding the capital has caused shops and public facilities to close.

On Sunday, Mr Morrison announced that former Australian Federal Police commissioner Andrew Colvin will lead a national bushfire recovery agency. The National Security Committee of cabinet will finalise the details on Monday, but the agency will work in conjunction with state authorities and defence efforts to finalise plans for the organisation. The agency will play a vital role for at least two years, delivering federal funding to local councils to rebuild critical infrastructure and to farmers to re-erect fences and remove animal carcasses from properties. Like the national drought and North Queensland flood recovery agencies, it will also co-ordinate income support for households and small businesses affected by the fires. It will also oversee the provision of mental health support for people affected. Establishment of such a body, with a national perspective, is an important step.

On Thursday, The Australian pointed out that bushfire disaster is too vast and complex for a piecemeal approach. The recovery agency headed by Mr Colvin will co-ordinate rebuilding from a national perspective. Mr Morrison and premiers will discuss vital medium-term issues such as the overhaul of hazard-reduction, land-clearing and planning laws at the next Council of Australian Governments meeting in March. A national perspective and input will be important. But as Mr Morrison said, such matters, which are state responsibilities, are best handled locally.

On the ground, with late summer traditionally being the worst season for bushfires in southern regions of the continent, many fear the worst still lies ahead. Spasmodic rainfall and milder weather gave some places a welcome breather on Sunday. In other areas, infernos raged or intensified. Residents and visitors to Eden on the NSW far south coast and surrounding areas were forced to evacuate or shelter on boats. As of Sunday night, 150 fires were still burning across NSW and 48 in Victoria, including three that were threatening communities, including Myrtleford near Mount Buffalo in the snowfields country, which was evacuated late on Sunday. Despite cooler temperatures in the south of NSW easing the immediate threat to the power grid, more than 24,500 homes and businesses in the region may be without electricity for the rest of this week, adding to hardships in an area where many have lost their homes. Severe bushfires in the Snowy Mountains still threaten connections to the Snowy Mountains hydro scheme.

Among the latest known victims of the fires, bush pilot Dick Lang, 78, and his son Clayton, 43, a surgeon, were found on Kangaroo Island, where 170,000 hectares — a third of the island — have burnt. Grave fears are also held for the safety of four people still missing in fire-ravaged areas of Victoria. Given the swaths of countryside burnt out across all states since September — an area larger than Denmark or Holland — the skill and dogged bravery of fire crews has been extraordinary in containing the number of deaths to 23. Tragic as each loss is, the cost to human life could have been many times worse.