Delay in state of emergency legislation may leave Tasmania exposed this bushfire season
Delay in state of emergency legislation may leave Tasmania exposed this bushfire season
09 October 2013
published by www.heraldsun.com.au
Australia — STATE of emergency legislation is unlikely to be in place before the next bushfire season.
There is pressure on the State Government to release the recently completed Bushfires Inquiry Report and the Mercury has discovered a document that shows state of emergency legislation was being considered in February.
But the Government has told the Mercury the legislation is still being considered.
“The review of the Emergency Management Act is ongoing pending consideration of the Bushfires Inquiry Report,” Police and Emergency Management Minister David O’Byrne said yesterday.
Minutes from a February meeting of the Tasmanian Infrastructure Advisory Council reveal a legislative framework was discussed.
“Discussion highlighted the need for state of emergency laws so that in emergency situations, processes are streamlined and expedited [such as] planning approvals, bridge access approvals, road closures etc.,” the minutes say.
Mr O’Byrne said the review of the Emergency Management Act had not been, and was not, a short-term undertaking.
“It is just one part of a broad and ongoing approach to emergency management in Tasmania.”
The long-awaited Tasmanian Bushfires Inquiry Report was handed to the Government on Monday.
Mr O’Byrne said the report would be taken to Cabinet next Monday.
Premier Lara Giddings announced the inquiry in April and appointed former South Australian police commissioner Malcolm Hyde to oversee the probe.
The Sunday Tasmanian reported two weeks ago that a local government submission had raised concerns that emergency radio systems were inadequate during the catastrophic January bushfires.
Mr O’Byrne said the report would only be released to Parliament once it had been reviewed by Cabinet.
“While the report is yet to be released, the work is already being done by Tas Fire, Tas Police and emergency departments, so we are already working on the things that we have learnt from last year,” he said.
“The Mal Hyde report is a warts-and-all view of what happened during the bushfire season and it is important that the community looks at that document and we learn from it.”
