Bushfires royal commission: Interim report exposes data gaps

The full devastation wreaked by Australia’s unprecedented summer bushfires is unclear, a new report says.

Residents defending a property from a bushfire at Hillsville near Taree, 350km north of Sydney, last year. Picture: AFP

Emergency warning systems must be updated, home buyers should be better informed about bushfire risks to property and greater co-ordination is required between ­jurisdictions, a new report into the summer bushfires says.

The Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements released an interim report on Monday ahead of the bushfire season, and while it did not specify draft recommen­dations, it highlighted the need for more research into hazard reduction burns while warning of the increased risk of more frequent and intense natural disasters over coming decades.

“As the 2019-20 bushfire season demonstrated, bushfire behaviour has become more extreme and less predictable. Catastrophic fire conditions may become more common, rendering traditional bushfire prediction models and firefighting techniques less effective,” the interim report says.

It also noted that the chain of command during natural disasters was often unclear, and this could lead to unnecessary delays in responding to natural disasters.

“Current arrangements do not provide a clear mechanism to elevate matters to national leaders — that is, the prime minister and other first ministers of states and territories,” the report says.

“Clarity about roles and responsibilities of various levels of government is necessary to ensure services are delivered effectively and efficiently, and to ensure appropriate levels of accountability.”

It also cautioned that it was “impossible” for any government to completely protect Australians from bushfire risk no matter how many resources they had. “Even the most well-resourced government agencies cannot entirely protect the public from the risks of natural disasters,” the report says.

It said that “all Australians” needed to take steps to “prepare themselves and their families” for disaster, with responsibility for preparation to be shared between ­“individuals, private enterprise, not-for-profit organisations, and all levels of government.”

The 2019-20 bushfires, which tore through massive tracts of NSW, Victoria and South Australia, claimed 33 lives and left thousand of people homeless.

Almost three billion animals were killed or displaced and close to 3000 buildings destroyed.

The so-called “Black Summer” caused more than $2bn in insured losses alone, while the economic impact on tourism, hospitality, agriculture and forestry has been estimated to be about $3.6bn.

The royal commission observed there had been a further $2bn in health costs — in part because of the respiratory illnesses caused by thick smoke that blanketed large swaths of the nation.

The interim report raised the prospect of using the national cabinet to manage future natural disasters, as well as the establishment of a national disaster agency that could co-ordinate any ­response, recovery and building resilience.

The commission also called for the immediate rollout of a new nat­ional emergency warning system, which has been in development for six years, after the probe heard evidence that terms like “watch and act” had been confusing to those in the line of fire.

It said that despite the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council’s efforts to pursue consistency through the alert system, the work had taken too long.

Commissioner Annabelle Bennett SC had previously blasted the NSW Rural Fire Service for not fast-tracking the update, declaring the move “breathtaking” after hearing evidence that people in fire zones had struggled to understand the “Watch and Act” direction as it simultaneously suggested people observe the fire while taking ­action to leave.

The interim report also flagged the creation of a national app for all natural disasters after inconsistencies and differences between states and territory apps caused ­issues for border communities and tourists.

The inquiry’s official recommendations will be delivered on October 28.