Shadow Minister for Primary Industries & Water, Shadow Minister for Police & Emergency Services, Shadow Minister for Parks & Wildlife, Shadow Minister for Local Government

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17
Dec

No time to become dysfunctional on fire risk

2009

I am demanding that the Government get its house in order before a potentially disastrous summer bushfire season.

Yesterday’s publicity by Forestry Tasmania at Bridport featuring a Victorian-based agricultural spraying aircraft demonstrates that the long-standing agreement between Tas Fire, Parks and Wildlife and Forestry Tasmania has broken down.

Tas Fire had already arranged a demonstration of the capacity and performance of an identical aircraft belonging to a sizeable Tasmanian rural company and apparently had no idea that Forestry Tasmania was in discussions with a Victorian company.

Ford Aviation of Cressy had previously pointed out to the Tasmanian Liberals that their aircraft had a particular capacity in certain bushfire situations which cannot be matched by helicopters and at Budget Estimates in June this year, the Tasmanian Liberals successfully encouraged the Chief Fire Officer to view a demonstration before the summer bushfire season. The demonstration is planned for next week.

For Forestry Tasmania, a key partner in the tri-agency group, to fly in a Victorian aircraft instead reveals that they are not only ignorant of the Tasmanian business sector’s capacity, but worse, that they are not talking to their colleagues at Tas Fire, which has arranged a local demonstration of the Tasmanian-owned air tractor aircraft.

This reveals the Labor Government’s plans for a dangerous fire season are disjointed and possibly dysfunctional. We call on the Minister for Police and Emergency Services to make sure that Tasmania’s emergency response, especially to bushfires, is functioning and well coordinated.