SUBJECT/S: National Aerial Firefighting Fleet; Higher Risk Weather Season

MEMBER FOR MACQUARIE, SUSAN TEMPLEMAN: I’m Susan Templeman the Federal Member for Macquarie and it is wonderful to have the Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain here today, along with the head of NEMA and the Commissioner for the New South Wales RFS. We will each have a few words to say at this very significant start of the fire season. The weather yesterday gave us an indication of what might be in store for people, particularly in this area of the Blue Mountains and the Hawksbury. It was a reminder that fire is never far from this area and there are fires now burning that the amazing New South Wales RFS have been working on. Where we are here at the National Aerial Firefighting Fleet, it’s just such a key part of how we as the Australian Government help protect Australians. As the Member for Macquarie I am very proud that this is the place where we have such incredible aircraft, planes, helicopters that not only help for bushfires, but have also had a really significant role for floods. Twelve years ago my home burned down in October 2013 and I look back at that as do 200 other families from the Blue Mountains, and we wonder if things would have been different had there been this sort of aerial firefighting capacity that we now have here and across the country. It’s a real pleasure to host this site here and I want to thank the Richmond RAAF base who have willingly backed in and supported this very, very important service here. The start of the fire season is a reminder to all of us, and yesterday was a reminder to everybody – me included – to get your gutters cleaned, clear out stuff from around your house and do all those practical things. At a federal level we are doing everything we can to protect and prepare and now it’s also up to individuals to do the things that need to be done. I’ll hand over to Minister McBain.

MINISTER FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, KRISTY MCBAIN: Thank you, it’s a real pleasure to be here in Susan’s electorate at RAAF Base Richmond which is the home of our National Aerial Firefighting Fleet. The Albanese Labor Government has invested over $50 million in our national aerial firefighting capacity and its really important that when we do so, we are looking at multi-use aircraft. Not only do we have do we have these aircraft in terms of firefighting, we now also use them in terms of supply and delivery of goods when communities are cut off, as well as for evacuations. Every year, the National Aerial Firefighting Centre contracts about 160 fleet for every state and territory across the country. The Australian Government now contributes to that with these five aircraft, including the large air tanker that you can see behind me. And as Susan said, it is incredibly important that the Australian Government plays their role with states and territories to keep communities across the country safe. Yesterday, as Susan says, was a real reminder that as Australians, we need to plan and prepare for what may come in the coming months. We know that the higher risk weather season traditionally runs from October to April, but we are seeing events occur outside of that normal time frame, so it is really important that we continue to have conversations with friends and family and those more vulnerable in our community about what their plan is in this high risk weather season. I want to say a big thanks to NEMA for all their work in making sure that every year Australians are kept safe with this National Aerial Firefighting Fleet. Today, we've got the New South Wales RFS Commissioner here as well. And yesterday I was in New South Wales RFS headquarters looking at that wall of knowledge with a number of events already occurring across the state. It is a real reminder that the bushfire season is upon us, there are events happening currently in Susan's electorate, in the electorate of Newcastle and further afield, but it is really important as the Australian Government, we provide support to the states and territories and we are doing that again this season. I want to thank Coulson Aviation for the work that they do, which is incredibly important. Pilots risk their own lives when they go into a fire with the aerial fleet, they are very skilled in what they do, and communities across the country appreciate when our National Aerial Firefighting Fleet shows up. As someone who lived in the Bega Valley that is not immune from bushfire, I can say wholeheartedly that when I see our National Aerial Firefighting Fleet or any of our RFS appliances in the area and on the ground, we really appreciate and know that these people have our backs in our time of need. The Albanese Government continues to play a really important role in making sure we've got the capabilities across the country – strategically prepositioned – and we will continue to support the states and territories as events occur over the coming higher risk by the season.

COORDINATOR-GENERAL, NATIONAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY BRENDAN MOON: Thank you, Minister. Brendan Moon, the Coordinator General of the National Emergency Management Agency. As we've heard from the local member and also from the minister herself, yesterday was an important signal for us that this year's high risk weather season will again challenge our capabilities, our plans and our communities. So there was an important signal for us that a prepared community is a safe community. We saw across Southern Australia, gale force winds, we saw extreme fire dangers through five regions here in New South Wales and we also experienced extreme heat wave risk throughout Northern Territory and also Queensland. The Commonwealth Government, with their state and territory partners, with our power companies, with our telcos, a whole range of the private sector entities, we've been preparing for months now for this high risk weather season. And importantly today, with our partners from New South Wales RFS, you are seeing some of the capabilities that we can bring to bear now nationally to support communities that are a risk during fire situations. But also this fleet has multipurpose capabilities as well. Yes, their primary purpose is fire protection, but also we have additional capabilities that are within this fleet now to support communities that may be impacted by floods. And we saw that last year in south-west Queensland and also on the central coast of New South Wales. So as we continue to prepare for this season, I think there are some important messages here. If you are prepared, you are safe. And that needs to be considered by not only all the emergency management organisations, but also by our community. So what we'd like you to do now is really, as we head into this high risk weather season, is consider your risk. What does it mean to you in your neighbourhood if you are impacted by a fire or by a flood? It's now time to undertake those maintenance activities around your house to protect your place of residence, have an emergency plan, and have an emergency kit.

NSW RURAL FIRE SERVICE COMMISSIONER TRENT CURTIN: Morning, everybody. Trent Curtain Commissioner for New South Wales Rural Fire Service. Yesterday was another strong reminder of the dangerous conditions that our community can face. We had extreme weather conditions through New South Wales with the heightened weather, including high winds, high temperatures, and really dry conditions. Those conditions yesterday, early in the season, were a very strong reminder that our communities will face dangerous bushfires again this year in New South Wales and across the country. We're fortunate here in New South Wales and across the country to have a very strong aerial fleet. Those aerial fleets support our volunteer firefighters as they go out every single day to combat bush and grass fires. Yesterday, we experienced 45 new bush and grass fires across New South Wales in very dangerous weather conditions. Those firefighters that responded so quickly with the support of aircraft were able to contain those fires very quickly and stop those fires becoming dangerous fires yesterday. With the support of the Federal Government, we're pleased to have the National Aerial Firefighting Fleet here hosted at the Richmond Air Base. The aerial firefighting fleet, that the national government supports, allows us to move aircraft around the country to align that to risk, depending on where in the country bushfire risk and other risks are occurring. Yesterday was such a strong reminder with severe winds in the southern states, bushfire conditions in the middle of the country, and heat wave conditions through many parts of the country that we need to have flexible aviation fleets to move around the country. Our aviation fleet does many things for us. They're known very well for their water bombing capabilities, but they also gather intelligence, they map fires, they do search and rescue during floods and storms, and they transport important emergency crews around the state and around the country. So we're really pleased today to make sure that we've got the right aircraft firefighting fleet and the right aviation fleet for fire emergency services across Australia. Our fire emergency services will be challenged again this year, and we need to make sure that our firefighters and our volunteers on the ground are supported by the right capabilities in the air. This season will be another dangerous season for our firefighters in our communities. So again today, we're calling on communities to prepare themselves for the upcoming bushfire season. Prepare your homes, make sure you've got a plan, and download the Hazards Near Me app to make sure that you're aware when fires and other emergencies might occur in your area.

QUESTION: Minister, how else is the government preparing for this higher risk weather season?

MCBAIN: Well, the Government has now established a National Emergency Stockpile so that we can assist states and territories after an event with things that they may need, including generators, emergency accommodation, and other equipment that may be required, both during in and after an event. It is really important that we continue to keep that strategic National Emergency Stockpile across the country, because it does help communities when they are at most risk. We've also established the Disaster Ready Fund. So we are looking at how we can invest in risk production before an event occurs to make communities more safe. And that includes a range of more social infrastructure programs, which helps communities prepare and be more resilient in the face of natural disasters. The Australian Government really recognises that the national government has a role to play not only in disaster response and recovery, but in risk reduction more broadly. Just recently at a G20 Disaster Risk Reduction meeting in South Africa, countries were turning to Australia to ask how we were preparing our communities for the next higher risk whether the season. So we will continue to work really broadly in partnership with states and territories across the country, with local councils in particular to make sure that we are getting that community buy in, but disaster risk reduction is a mandate now of the Australian Government and will continue to invest in it.

QUESTION: Commissioner, is there anything else you wanted to say about yesterday? Was it a bit of an anomaly, a bit of a test ahead of the high risk weather season?

CURTIN: Yesterday's weather conditions were a signal to communities in New South Wales and right across Australia that we need to prepare ourselves for the upcoming fire season. We had 45 fires start yesterday, and with our 32 aircraft either deployed or on standby, we were well prepared to bring those fires under control very, very quickly. But it takes a whole range of things to happen to make sure that we can keep these fires under control. We need our volunteers prepared and ready to respond. We need an aviation fleet that's available across the state and across the country to respond quickly. And we need community members to do their part as well. We want to make sure that families and homes are talking to each other about what they need to do to prepare for the upcoming season. Make sure you have a bushfire survival plan, and make sure you've contacted your local fire brigade if you need any support in preparing your home in preparation for the upcoming bushfire season.

ENDS