Wednesday, 22 February 2023

 Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:00): (41) My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services. Minister, with the grassfire that has been raging out of control at Flowerdale, it is critical that firefighting air support is available. Both you and emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp confirmed that Victoria had night-time water-bombing capability at a press conference on 6 February this year, and Emergency Management Victoria released a statement this morning that four aircraft worked at the fire at Flowerdale overnight. Yet Victoria does not have four aircraft certified for night operations, and flight trackers show no aircraft fought the fire overnight, with both the Chinook and the air crane leaving around 8 pm. Minister, why did water bombing not occur overnight to fight the fire at Flowerdale?

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:01): I thank Ms Hermans for her first question to me. Welcome to the emergency services portfolio in relation to your shadow portfolios. I know you have taken an active interest since being appointed to that role, and I appreciate that. Emergency services is very often bipartisan. It should be always bipartisan, but more often than not it is.

The question you ask is an extremely operational question, but I can confirm that there are a range of night-time aerial aircraft available. They do not all drop water. Some are for safety measures and have cameras that enable the advice for the other vehicles that are in the air to make sure that they are in a safe manner. My advice is that there was water bombing overnight. How many particular aircrafts were dropping water versus how many were deployed to the efforts is something that I can obtain operational advice for you on.

In terms of the updates that I have been receiving and indeed making available to the local member Ms McLeish, the fire in Flowerdale has now just been downgraded in the past hour to ‘watch and act’, which is a ‘stay near shelter’ advice for people in that area. And that is because of the significant deployment of more than 50 CFA units, supported by Forest Fire Management, because the area that is on fire contains a lot of steep and inaccessible areas. So having that expertise there has been a fantastic support to our hardworking CFA volunteers. But in addition, being supported by the aircraft both yesterday and overnight has meant that we are in a position to have the good news that that fire is not under control yet but has been downgraded, and there are concerted efforts on this fire today, particularly ahead of the warmer weather later in the week.

 Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:03): Minister, what are the registration numbers of the aircraft that supposedly fought the fire at Flowerdale overnight?

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:04): I am not even going to commit to giving you an answer on that, because it is a ridiculous question. When it comes to the deployment of resources, that is an operational matter. It is certainly not a matter that I would in any way, shape or form seek to influence. I would never personally ask for the registration numbers of vehicles that are responding. What I am more interested in is the communities that our hardworking volunteers and staff are supporting, including our pilots and including the people in the SCC, who are in that engine room ensuring the safety of not only our personnel but the community. And in good news, this is a fire that has resulted in no loss of homes and no injuries, and it is all because of our fantastic personnel, who have my full support.