Tuesday, 4 February 2025

Bushfire business support

Emma KEALY (Lowan) (14:25): My question is to the Premier. It is 49 days since bushfires began to decimate the Grampians, surrounding farms, communities and businesses. Grampians businesses have lost their peak summer season. Now, because both state and federal Labor governments have failed to provide small business disaster support in their time of need, they face business closures. When will small business support packages be made available for businesses devastated by the Grampians bushfires?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:25): I thank the member for Lowan for her question. As I said earlier in my ministers statement, I think we all understand the great challenges that are being experienced by those townships, businesses and communities around the Grampians National Park who have been experiencing a continued fire attack since 16 December when dry lightning started the first of those fires. As we have seen, other fires have been coming off the main fire as a consequence of the ongoing impact of that first ignition point.

As a response, there has already been a range of supports that have been provided with the activation of the personal hardship grants, the activation by the federal government for employees in those communities who have lost their income, so that income support has been provided to those employees. Also, I know from both visiting Horsham with the Prime Minister in late December –

Members interjecting.

Jacinta ALLAN: When I visited the Horsham incident control centre in late December, while the fires were still going, I had the opportunity to be briefed and to thank the emergency services personnel but also a large number of people from across the community who gave up their Christmas, who gave up their New Year, who gave up time with their families to keep not just their own community safe –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Premier, I would ask you to resume your seat.

Emma Kealy: On a point of order, Speaker, the question goes specifically to small business support packages. I also acknowledge the amazing work of the volunteers and the emergency management workers –

The SPEAKER: Order! What is your point of order?

Emma Kealy: however, it is the businesses that are in critical need of small business support.

The SPEAKER: What is your point of order?

Emma Kealy: Relevance.

The SPEAKER: Thank you. A point of order is not an opportunity to make a statement to the house.

Mary-Anne Thomas: Speaker, there is no point of order. The member for Lowan has raised relevance. The Premier is being entirely relevant to the question that was put to her, and I ask that you rule the member for Lowan’s point of order out of order and let the Premier get on with answering the question.

The SPEAKER: The Premier to come back to answering the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: Thank you, Speaker. As I was outlining, there has been a range of supports that has been activated: the personal hardship assistance grants and also that income support – that 13 weeks of income support – that is also available for sole traders in the local community.

The SPEAKER: On a different point of order, member for Lowan.

Emma Kealy: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance: this is relevant to supporting businesses that are about to go broke because they have lost their trade and the government cannot provide any support –

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Lowan will resume her seat! Screaming across the chamber is not going to make your point of order any more relevant.

Emma Kealy: Speaker, I apologise. I am extraordinarily frustrated.

The SPEAKER: I appreciate that, member for Lowan, but raise your point of order succinctly.

Mary-Anne Thomas: Speaker, I think I know what you were going to say, but there is no point of order, and I ask again that you counsel the member for Lowan further on the way in which she comes into this place and uses –

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the House will resume her seat. I ask the Leader of the House to refrain from telling me how to do my job. I would also ask the member for Lowan to be respectful of those on their feet and let them answer the question. I cannot direct the Premier how to answer the question, but she was being relevant.

Jacinta ALLAN: Thank you, Speaker. As someone who lives in a high fire risk community, I know just how important it is to support our communities. That is why, in addition to the support that includes support to sole traders that I have already outlined, the Minister for Emergency Services has visited a number of times, including last Friday, Dimboola, and the Minister for Local Government has visited the Halls Gap community, as has the Minister for Small Business and Employment. We are doing that to listen to those communities, but can I make this clear point right now: if you jump on your VicEmergency app, you will see there are emergency warnings out right now for these communities. There is still an active fire underway right now, and we will continue to support those communities. I remind the member for Lowan that those communities need our support and leadership.

Emma KEALY (Lowan) (14:30): Today the Premier announced an inquiry into the McCrae landslip, stating that ‘too many people have been let down’. When will the Premier establish an inquiry into the Grampians bushfires to understand the impact of Labor’s failure to deliver fuel reduction to levels recommended by the royal commission into the Black Saturday bushfires, Labor’s failure to have the complete firefighting air fleet in place in preparation for the fire season and Labor’s failure to support businesses to assist community recovery?

Mary-Anne Thomas: On a point of order, Speaker, I suggest that the supplementary question put by the member for Lowan was indeed not a supplementary question to her initial question but in fact a whole separate question. Her first question was about business support for the Grampians. Her second question was about an inquiry into the landslip at McCrae and whether there should also be an inquiry into bushfires. I suggest that it is not a supplementary question and that you rule it out of order.

Emma KEALY: On the point of order, Speaker, the question was in relation to the Grampians bushfires, and my final point was about Labor’s failure to support businesses to assist community recovery. That is directly in line with the substantive question that was put, and therefore I ask that you rule it in order. Further, I realise that you are looking at a transcript of the question. I am happy to make that question available to you, if you like.

The SPEAKER: Order! I have the question in front of me, member for Lowan. I am going to let this one through, but it is very tenuous.

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:32): I reject the premise of the member’s question. This sort of misinformation reminds me of a time when someone stood up in this place and said no career firefighter turned up to Black Saturday. The member for Gembrook stood up in this place and said no career firefighter turned up at Black Saturday. This sort of misinformation –

Emma Kealy: On a point of order, Speaker, responses to questions are not a time to attack the opposition. My community are desperate for answers; they want an inquiry. I ask the Premier to respond.

The SPEAKER: Order! I would ask members to make their points of order succinctly. It is not an opportunity to make a statement to the house. The Premier will come back to answering the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: I say this because this is a pattern of behaviour, of misinformation being spread at precisely the time when communities need to see us in this place supporting them, which is why we have provided hardship grants, which is why we have provided support for sole traders and which is why we have been visiting and listening to those local communities. We will continue to do that. In terms of an inquiry, the member for Lowan knows that after natural disasters like this IGEM plays a role in reviewing each and every emergency incident.