Mr SETTER - 1994-08-31
The recent fires in the rural area have caused concern to many Top End residents. Mr Speaker, as you live in the rural area, I am sure that you are very familiar with the pall of
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smoke that has been across the Top End for the last month or two. Can the minister assure the Assembly that the resources of the Northern Territory Fire Service can cope with such large scrub fires and, in many cases, a number of large scrub fires? Does the NTFS still have sufficient personnel to be able to fight more than one fire at a time?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, this important issue needs some public clarification. There have been some very large fires in the rural area over the last week or two. The belief is that most of those have been lit deliberately and also relit deliberately. I find it very disturbing that someone obtains a perverse enjoyment by lighting fires deliberately in an area where a large number of people reside, and there is considerable property and stock. Obviously, every time a fire burns in the rural area, there are threats to people's lives and property. I am informed that one fire last week had a 7 km front. It took 3 days of fighting by volunteers and units from Casuarina and Palmerston to extinguish that fire but, the next day, mysteriously it was relit.
Obviously, members are aware of the scenes on television, including the comments of firefighters who have spent many hours fighting these fires and are in a state of some exhaustion as a result. There have been comments that the resources of our fire services were stretched. They were stretched, but I can inform the community that units were still in reserve at Palmerston, Casuarina and Howard Springs. The city also had its units in reserve. There were personnel in reserve who were available under the recall system. However, it would be very difficult for our fire services to cope without the excellent work of the volunteers who form the backbone of our rural firefighting services. They do an excellent job. Their commitment is such that they often drop everything to take on the job of protecting the community in which they live, even disregarding the safety of their own personal property.
As well as having units in reserve, I am informed that we have a mutual aid agreement with the Royal Australian Navy's fire service and the fire services of other military services. That enables our fire services to provide assistance to the military and vice versa when circumstances require it. In a situation where our services are unable to cope - for example, if we had a number of units fighting fires in the rural area and there was a need to supplement those in reserve - under the mutual aid agreement, the military services would provide that assistance. That agreement has been in place for some years, and it is a very effective and sensible one.
The general gist of my answer is that the community has had sufficient protection even though many members of our services have been engaged in fighting fires. Our arrangement with the military services enables that protection to be expanded by using the military services if the necessity should arise. I congratulate the fire officers who have been engaged in this duty over the last couple of weeks because they deserve the community's thanks for their efforts.
Members: Hear, hear!
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smoke that has been across the Top End for the last month or two. Can the minister assure the Assembly that the resources of the Northern Territory Fire Service can cope with such large scrub fires and, in many cases, a number of large scrub fires? Does the NTFS still have sufficient personnel to be able to fight more than one fire at a time?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, this important issue needs some public clarification. There have been some very large fires in the rural area over the last week or two. The belief is that most of those have been lit deliberately and also relit deliberately. I find it very disturbing that someone obtains a perverse enjoyment by lighting fires deliberately in an area where a large number of people reside, and there is considerable property and stock. Obviously, every time a fire burns in the rural area, there are threats to people's lives and property. I am informed that one fire last week had a 7 km front. It took 3 days of fighting by volunteers and units from Casuarina and Palmerston to extinguish that fire but, the next day, mysteriously it was relit.
Obviously, members are aware of the scenes on television, including the comments of firefighters who have spent many hours fighting these fires and are in a state of some exhaustion as a result. There have been comments that the resources of our fire services were stretched. They were stretched, but I can inform the community that units were still in reserve at Palmerston, Casuarina and Howard Springs. The city also had its units in reserve. There were personnel in reserve who were available under the recall system. However, it would be very difficult for our fire services to cope without the excellent work of the volunteers who form the backbone of our rural firefighting services. They do an excellent job. Their commitment is such that they often drop everything to take on the job of protecting the community in which they live, even disregarding the safety of their own personal property.
As well as having units in reserve, I am informed that we have a mutual aid agreement with the Royal Australian Navy's fire service and the fire services of other military services. That enables our fire services to provide assistance to the military and vice versa when circumstances require it. In a situation where our services are unable to cope - for example, if we had a number of units fighting fires in the rural area and there was a need to supplement those in reserve - under the mutual aid agreement, the military services would provide that assistance. That agreement has been in place for some years, and it is a very effective and sensible one.
The general gist of my answer is that the community has had sufficient protection even though many members of our services have been engaged in fighting fires. Our arrangement with the military services enables that protection to be expanded by using the military services if the necessity should arise. I congratulate the fire officers who have been engaged in this duty over the last couple of weeks because they deserve the community's thanks for their efforts.
Members: Hear, hear!
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016