Bushfires: Fires force new thinking on rebuild of critical infrastructure

Critical infrastructure will need to be future-proofed against catastrophes after the recent destruction of power lines and telecommunications, says recovery chief.

Newly appointed leader of the National Bushfire Recovery Agency Andrew Colvin on Kangaroo Island. Picture: Sean McGowan

Critical infrastructure will need to be future-proofed against bushfire catastrophes following the recent destruction of power transmission lines, telecommunications and agricultural fencing, according to bushfire recovery chief Andrew Colvin.

The scale of the damage caused by the fires that razed more than 12 million hectares across the country and took 33 lives, was so great that new ways of protecting infrastructure needed to be considered.  Data provided by the Bushfire Recovery Agency, established by Scott Morrison, shows more than 2100 power poles in southeast NSW had been damaged or ­destroyed, with some communities still without electricity.

An unknown number of mobile phone towers had also been lost, with at least 22 portable towers having been deployed to provide temporary coverage for affected towns and regions in NSW. Half of all towers destroyed still had not been replaced.

More than one million cubic tonnes of agricultural fencing is also claimed to have been lost in the fires, and the industry has warned there are not enough fence posts produced in Australia every year to replace the 50 million that had been destroyed.

Mr Colvin, the former Australian Federal Police commissioner appointed to lead the recovery ­effort, said one of the key issues for the agency would be to investigate how to build in resilience to protect local and national ­infrastructure.

“The enormity of the recovery isn’t only the scale but that the ­recovery needs of communities are vastly different,” he said.

“When I came into the role I was under no illusion about how large the task would be. I’ve been impressed and humbled by the way in which local communities and individuals are dealing with the devastation and working ­together on their road to recovery.

“We will have to look at how we can make our infrastructure stand up better.

“We are turning our minds to this now. We will have to look at it carefully.

“To be fair the companies have done a good job bringing back telecommunications and power for instance, with mobile repeaters, new poles and generators. But we still have some of our communities isolated from these services.

“If fires come into areas with critical infrastructure, how do we protect it, what can we do to ­maximise the chances that our critical infrastructure remains ­intact.”

Mr Colvin said the national ­security framework around critical infrastructure could provide a model for protecting local infrastructure from natural disasters.

The Australian Defence Force has so far cleared 3944km of roads, cleared or repaired 900km of fencing and cleared 240km of firebreaks and almost 100,000 residents affected. Almost 90,000 claims for help have been lodged.

The Prime Minister said part of the recovery process would be building in resilience to protect communities against future fire seasons.

“The rebuilding work throughout our fire-affected regions will be a very practical recovery: house by house, shed by shed, fence post by fence post. That will bring a much-needed economic boost to these hard-hit communities,” Mr Morrison said.

“It won’t be just tourists returning to these beautiful communities, it will be the tradies, the builders and the civil engineers, all bringing their expertise to help to get these communities back on their feet.

“It is also about building resilience for these communities; to build back better, ensuring our infrastructure is built to withstand, and our communities are increasingly protected from the fire ­extremes that we have seen sweep through these towns and regions.”

More than 3000 homes across Australia have been confirmed as lost since the bushfire season began, along with significant ­impacts to livestock and farming infrastructure.

More than 12.6 million hectares have been burnt across the country’s south, east and west.

“A key observation I’ve made travelling around the country is that everyone’s road to recovery is different and by visiting communities the agency is learning directly how it can support them,” Mr Colvin said.

“It is key that recovery plans be locally driven with support from all levels of government.

“This will be a complex and challenging journey, and ­requires a multi-level government ­response.

“By meeting with locals and hearing their stories I’ve been ­reminded how resilient Australians are. It’s a particularly stressful time for many, but I know we can come together and rebuild more resilient than before.”