Queensland’s final response to Black Saturday Royal Commission
Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts today released the Queensland Government’s response to the 67 recommendations made by the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission in its final report into 2009’s Black Saturday fires.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts today released the Queensland Government’s response to the 67 recommendations made by the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission in its final report into 2009’s Black Saturday fires.
Mr Roberts said the Queensland Government response followed a number of proactive initiatives already implemented in Queensland as a result of the Commission’s interim findings.
“The Government carefully examined the Commission’s final report to see which recommendations could help improve our capacity to respond to major bushfires,” he said.
“Queensland supports the majority of the recommendations relevant to our State, and in many cases we already have arrangements in place that reflect their intent.
“Not all of the recommendations carry the same weight or relevance in Queensland as in other States – our most prevalent natural disasters are storms, cyclones and floods, and the risk of experiencing bushfires as severe and intense as Black Saturday is low.”
Mr Roberts said Queensland was already well versed in natural disasters and had an all hazards approach to incident management.
“The implementation of the Commission’s recommendations must continue to focus on our most prevalent risk factors,” he said.
“The Bligh Government recently introduced changes to the Disaster Management Act 2003 to allow the declaration of a disaster when one is likely to happen, rather than after the fact.
“This enables State-assisted resources to be deployed to an area before an impending event actually occurs, providing a better level of protection and emergency response for Queenslanders facing disaster.
“Our legislation also already clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of the Minister, local authorities, State Government Agencies and volunteers during disaster events.”
In Queensland, all fire events are managed through the framework of the Australasian Inter-Service Incident Management Systems ( AIIMS ) which integrates the activities and resources of multiple agencies and utilises the principles of command, control and coordination.
“We have one fire service, one Fire Commissioner, and a well defined and understood chain of command,” Mr Roberts said.
“We have a robust bushfire safety policy and have implemented significant initiatives – identified in each of the Commission’s reports – that will lead to improved safety for Queenslanders.
“These include:
·An all hazards approach promoting cooperation across all levels of Government and non-Government stakeholders;
·Nationally consistent warning templates and a graded scale of alerts and information to the community;
·Agreements and protocols with ABC and Commercial Radio Australia for emergency broadcasts;
·The use of Emergency Alert – a telephone warning system which sends messages to land lines and mobile phones based on billing addresses;
·Robust evacuation arrangements;
·A nationally consistent six category fire severity rating scale;
·Improved staffing arrangements at fire communication centres;
·The ability to ban the lighting of fires during peak fire activity periods;
·The Prepare.Act.Survive community education campaign;
·The designation of 80 Neighbourhood Safer Places in local communities as places for people to gather for shelter during a fire;
·A community-based arson prevention program;
·A long-term program for fuel reduction burning in National Parks and reserves; and
·A property-based urban fire levy system with discounts for pensioners.
“Options for shelter have also been strengthened through a combination of Evacuation Centres and the adoption of a new national construction standard for private bushfire bunkers from 2011.
“The tragic lessons from Black Saturday serve as a reminder that there is always room for improvement in disaster response and management.
“The Commission’s recommendations about electricity-caused fires and changes to building codes in bushfire prone areas are complex, and will be further examined.
“We are also participating in national discussions with other States and Territories as well as the Commonwealth Government to address those recommendations that require a national approach.
“These include the review of building codes, national education and research programs, and the use of Commonwealth resources during major disaster events.”
A limited number of recommendations were not supported for implementation in Queensland, including the designation of community fire refuges, identification cards for volunteers, the retreat and resettlement of communities in high-risk areas, and the removal of certain building standards for construction in the flame zone.
Media contact: Minister’s office - 0488 096 204
Related Content
Published by:
Release Date
This story was released on 2011-01-02. Please make sure to visit the official company or organization web site to learn more about the original release date. See our disclaimer for additional information.