The federal government should have the power to declare a state of national emergency, according to a final report handed down by the Royal Commission investigating last summer’s catastrophic bushfires.
The proposed change is among 80 recommendations made public on Friday after the report was tabled in parliament.
In response to the report, the Emergency Management Minister defended the government’s level of preparation for the Black Summer blazes, which torched 10 million hectares, destroyed more than 3,000 homes and killed 33 people.
Hundreds more died from the thick smoke that blanketed parts of Australia for weeks on end, the inquiry found.
“We are well prepared. We were well prepared last year,” David Littleproud told reporters.
“This year we are fully prepared to pivot from bushfire into any other hazard that comes our way.”
The 579-page report includes recommendations on dozens of topics, including firefighting capabilities, information sharing, land management and health impacts.
Among the most significant is a call for the federal government to have broader powers to declare a state of emergency.
“The declaration should be made by the prime minister, and legislation should be clear about the circumstances in which a declaration may be made, and the actions that the Australian government can then take to support state and territory governments,” the report says.
Such a declaration would signal the severity of the situation to the community and put agencies and troops on high alert.
The report says the federal government should be able to act in response to a natural disaster regardless of whether or not a state has asked for help in a state of emergency.
But the declaration “should not purport” to give the federal government power to unilaterally decide how state and territory resources are used.
Mr Littleproud said the ability to declare a national emergency “doesn‘t mean the federal government would come in and take the operational management of the fire.”
“It would give a clear delineation and trigger point in which the federal government would be able to bring in its agencies, whether it be the Defence Force or any other, to support and assist state governments across the country because of the scale and size of the disaster.”
That recommendation will count as a win for Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who asked for such powers in January after copping heavy flak for what many perceived as his slow response to the crisis.
The report hints at that public perception, stating the more than 1,700 submissions made clear “the Australian public expected greater Australian government action” during the bushfires.
The commission also recommends developing an Australia-based national aerial firefighting capability, a fleet that would supplement states’ own aircraft resources.
The report makes clear disaster management arrangements must catch up to a new reality in which climate change has made natural disasters worse.
It calls for the federal, state and territory governments to improve information and technology sharing to better anticipate climate change challenges when preparing for natural disasters.
It also states governments should produce localised projections of climate impacts to better inform the risk of future disasters.
Climate change will continue to whip up wilder storms, lead to higher sea levels, and stoke hotter and more out-of-control bushfires, the report says.
“We are likely to see more compounding disasters on a national scale with far-reaching consequences. Compounding disasters may be caused by multiple disasters happening simultaneously, or one after another.”
“Some may involve multiple hazards – fires, floods and storms.
“Some have cascading effects – threatening not only lives and homes, but also the nation’s economy, critical infrastructure and essential services, such as our electricity, telecommunications and water supply, and our roads, railways and airports.”
Mr Littleproud said the federal government would work with the states to implement the recommendations.
“There are 80 recommendations - 14 of those are for the Commonwealth government, 23 relate solely to state and territories, 41 are shared responsibilities that we will work with the state,” he said.
He described the recommendations for the federal government as “very pragmatic” and said they would continue to implement them.
He also paid tribute to the 33 people who were killed during the fires.
The inquiry, formally known as the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, was commissioned by Mr Morrison, who initially set a six-month deadline for September.
Commissioner Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin was granted a two-month extension in July.
Labor Leader Anthony Albanese said last year’s severe fire season showed more needed to be done to address the challenge of climate change.
“During last year, we had the Deputy Prime Minister say that it was just an inner city issue,” Mr Albanese said, speaking ahead of the report’s release.
“Tell that to the people around Canberra here, the people around the Snowy Mountains region, the people around Batlow, the people around the coast who saw so much damage.
“We had such a loss of life as well as a loss of habitat, a loss of flora and fauna. It was a devastating period and I hope that the Government adopts all recommendations from the Bushfire Royal Commission.”
Firefighters Union spokesman Leighton Drury criticised the commission for not asking it to give evidence after it made a submission to the inquiry.
“It is commendable that the commission sought the views of a variety of people, however we see critical failure in not engaging with our members,” Mr Drury said.
“More people from the Australian Space Agency were called to give evidence than professional frontline firefighters.”
More to come
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2020-10-30 00:24:23Z
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