Source: Prime Minister of Australia
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Australians right across the country are facing extreme and dangerous conditions, with bushfires burning in multiple states, and of course, the dangers arising from severe wet weather to our north, particularly the north-east.
As I’ve often said, though, at the worst of times, we’re seeing once again, the best of the Australian character, and it’s been good to be here at the centre to say thank you to the workers who are really protecting their fellow Victorians and fellow Australians.
We are seeing right across regional Victoria, neighbours helping neighbours and people stepping up for people that they may never have met and might never meet in the future as well, just helping each other out. And we just met just outside here, someone who travelled from Alberta, Canada, as well. People coming from overseas as well as interstate to help out.
I do want to thank all our first responders, firefighters, police, paramedics, our volunteers. We owe you our deepest gratitude.
I want to say on behalf of the Federal Government that we are working hand in hand with the Victorian Government. Together, we’ve got your back. We want to make sure that people know that the Government will be there at difficult times.
We’ve already committed up to $171 million and under the joint Commonwealth state disaster funding arrangements. And today, we’re expanding our partnership with Victoria to provide an additional $158 million co-funded with Victoria. And I want to thank the Premier for the extraordinarily close working relationship that we have at times like this. This brings the total support package to $329 million between the Commonwealth and the Victorian Government.
This includes funds for clean up programs, for emergency recovery support programs to support businesses, to support local government across a range of areas. Something particularly struck me having visited Harcourt with the Premier, is the Harcourt Cool Stores being given half a million dollars to try and recover, this as a co-op that we saw firsthand, the devastation that has occurred there. In addition to that, money to help repair public land and waterways, money for recovery water tank rebates, funding across the board where it’s needed, providing that support to Victorians of what has been a particularly difficult time.
I want to thank Tim for the leadership that you have shown as well. And we’re going to hear from the Premier, and then from Tim, and then we’ll take a few questions.
< JACINTA ALLAN, PREMIER OF VICTORIA:
This package today, which totals $160 million in support, taking to $375 million the support that’s being immediately delivered into these fire affected communities, is focused on at this stage of the recovery. Significant component of this funding is for the clean up effort. And a lead contractor has been appointed and will work with those communities on the clean up. Really important to get as quickly as possible you can in there to start that clean up work, because that’s how the recovery journey starts. It also it’s incredibly stressful to see your property, your property damaged, and to have that mental health impact as well, which is why, as part of this package today as well, there is ongoing and additional mental health support, and particularly with a focus on those schools that are in fire affected communities. There’s also ongoing support for a temporary accommodation as people continue to consider what their housing options will be, some will want to rebuild on their blocks. Some might want to consider other options. What we’re saying here is, we know you need time, and we’ll provide that support with ongoing temporary accommodation. There’s a range of initiatives in what we’re announcing today that speak to recovery, advice and support, ongoing case management support, business counselling, financial counselling, and also, as I’ve mentioned, mental health support as well.
Like the Prime Minister has mentioned, I too want to call out funding of $500,000 for the Harcourt Cooperative Cool Store. It’s been, we’ve heard really clearly how important it is to the local community, both in terms of business support, in getting some certainty around the rebuild for this important asset in the local community, but also, it’s a big and powerful symbol of the start of the rebuild. The Harcourt Cooperative Cool Store is a much loved building and landmark building in Harcourt as it is part of the economic activity in the local community. So, we heard very clearly, the four of us, when we’re in Harcourt, just a day or two after the fires ripped through that beautiful country community, that this was a priority, and that’s why we’ve identified it as part of this package of support.
There will be support ongoing. The journey is a long one, and we will stand with you. And again, I thank the Prime Minister for his and his Government’s not just ongoing support, but for the very immediate way that support has been provided.
As I also hand over to our Emergency Management Commissioner, Tim Wiebusch, can I again take this opportunity to thank all of our emergency services and the volunteers we’ve had now many weeks of fire, and we are still not out of our summer period. We’ve got many weeks of summer ahead of us, and so again, it’s an opportunity for me to also thank Victorians, who have been both supporting fire affected communities, donated to the Bushfire Appeal Fund, but also taken and listened to the advice. And that is, continues to be incredibly important to keep monitoring conditions. Keep tuned to the VicEmergency app that if you are told to leave and are given a message from our emergency services, please do so, because we know it’s the most important way to protect your own life, but it’s also too, a big and important way we all individually, can support the work of our emergency services. And also too in supporting the work of our emergency services, again, acknowledge what they’ve done. As at yesterday, there were eight active fires in the landscape here in Victoria, the Commissioner today will report on that number is now four, and that speaks to that huge containment effort, because a lot of, lot of land has been burnt out and continues to be under fire risk, and so it’s a huge response and effort, and speaks to the work and the expertise and the skills of our emergency services. On that point, I’ll ask the Commissioner to provide an update.
< TIM WIEBUSCH, VICTORIAN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMISSIONER:
In terms of our fires, we still have a State of Disaster that is in place, and as the Premier has just mentioned, in good news, we’ve gone from eight major fires now to four major fires that are still active at this time. Yesterday, we saw the two fires in the east of the state, being the Lake Barracoota and the Rich River fires be brought to a level that can go back to local control. And similarly, in the west of the state, the Rocklands fire and also the Larralea are now back at local control. So that leaves us with the four major fires being the Longwood fire, which is contained and it hasn’t moved over the recent days with the weather conditions. And that’s all credit to the firefighters on the ground that are doing such a great job at continuing to contain that fire, and then the Wonnangatta and Dargo fire in Gippsland and the Carlisle River fire in the Otways. Both of those fires really won’t be safe until we see decent rain, and there is no forecast rain in the near future, but both of those fires have remaining containment lines in recent days, and we’re hoping to come early next week, those fires may be deemed, in fact, contained. And similarly, with the Walwa Mount Lawson fire at the state’s north east, that fire will come under pressure in the next 24 hours, again with some increased winds and still those 40 degree temperatures that I’ve already spoken about. But again, the crews on the ground there are doing an amazing job at building containment lines, and we are hopeful that that fire again might be brought under contained conditions early next week. But our landscape does remain very dry, and we know the Bureau is forecasting dry lightning during Saturday and the early parts of Sunday, and so we need the community to remain vigilant. If you do see flames or new fires start, then please be ringing through to Triple Zero so that we can get our fire crews onto those as soon as we possibly can.
We’ve had updates as well with the losses on two of our main fires, and one of those being the Walwa Mount Lawson fire. We now know that we have 14 homes that have been destroyed there, two others that have been significantly damaged, and 93 other structures that have been damaged or destroyed at that Mount Lawson Walwa fire. At the Carlisle River fire in the Otways, our impact assessment teams have now been in and done their initial sweep as well. We now know that there are nine homes that have been destroyed there, two that have also been significantly damaged, and a further 25 outbuildings that have been lost through that fire. In good news, Bowen Water has now been able to get water supply back on reticulation for the Gellibrand community, for the use of showers and toilets. The water is still not drinkable at this time, but they have now set up a potable water station in the township of Gellibrand, and we are hopeful that over the weekend, we’ll be able to get residents back into the Gellibrand community. A relief centre still remains in place for those in and around the Otways fire at the Colac Showgrounds, but numbers have significantly reduced there with the opening of some of the roads yesterday and access to some of the communities, with only 24 people being there overnight.
Obviously, as the Premier and the Prime Minister have just announced a range of support measures, the best way to access those supports is through our recovery hotline, which is 1800 560 760, or through our Victorian Government website, which is vic.gov.au/bushfirerecovery, which has all the latest information and details about the many support programs that are now in place across the state. We’re happy to take any questions you might have.
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