Canberra community not adequately prepared for future bushfires, ACT government inquiry hears

The ACT government is examining how prepared the territory is for future bushfires. (Supplied: Jacob Ross)

The chair of the ACT’s multi-hazard advisory council has told a government inquiry she does not think the ACT community is adequately prepared for future bushfires.

Chair of the ACT’s multi-hazard advisory council Sally Troy was giving evidence to the Legislative Assembly’s inquiry into the ACT’s preparedness for future fires.

Dr Troy said Canberra had a “highly transient population” of people moving to the capital who may not have experienced a fire emergency, and there were “issues to do with the passivity of the community”.

“So when I look at the Black Summer, and the number of ACT residents that went to holiday on the New South Wales coast, despite there being multiple large-scale fires in the Great Dividing Range that were quite clear, unless we had some extraordinary weather events, were going to burn to the beaches, and in fact did,” Dr Troy told the inquiry.

“The number of people that went to have a summer holiday there anyway, tells you something about our worrying willingness to wait for government direction rather than to have some kind of proactive, risk mitigation sensibility.”

Dr Troy said there needed to be a more systematic program of educating the community about what they should do in a fire and what they can expect the government to do, so all members of the community have clear understandings and expectations over how to respond to a fire.

“We can’t assume that people who’ve had the experience in the major bushfires 20 years ago, are still the dominant members of the community,” she said.

“So that memory and that knowledge fades very quickly, and needs to be constantly refreshed, and we need to think very clearly about how do we make sure that information gets through to all sectors of the community, not just the English as a first language, physically able, well-educated, well socially-connected people.”

‘Disappointing response’

The inquiry is seeking to prepare a report on bushfire preparedness, including environmental factors in the ACT and surrounds, condition of the environment and fuel loads and cross-border risks and issues.

Today’s hearing fell just over a year after the the ACT multi-hazard advisory council made 23 recommendations to the government on the territory’s bushfire management arrangements.

That report was handed down on the 20th anniversary of the devastating 2003 bushfires, in which four people died and about 500 homes were destroyed.

Dr Troy said the council has been “disappointed” with the government’s response to their report.

“So four of the recommendations that we made were agreed and one was accepted in principle, and then the other 18 were noted,” Dr Troy said.

The recommendations included increasing community fire units, boosting volunteer numbers in fire agencies and other community organisations, and better planning and analysis for fire risk in the environment.

In presenting the government’s submission to the inquiry, environment minister Rebecca Vassarotti said the government looked forward to the inquiry’s report.

“The effects of climate change and the potential for more frequent and severe bushfires will require an ongoing and significant focus by the government, business and community on bushfire prevention and preparedness,” Ms Vassariott said.

“These activities will however need to be carefully balanced against the conservation objectives and functions of the ACT’s Parks and Conservation Service.”

Concerns about western edge

The inquiry has also examined the bushfire risk of housing developments on Canberra’s western edge.

Residents and fire experts have previously raised concerns about homes and new developments between southern Belconnen and Tuggeranong being “in the line of fire”.

In its submission to the inquiry, the Concerned Residents of Weston Creek group called on the government to do more to manage bushfire risk.

“Managing bush fire risk is a very serious issue and continues to be a source of stress and trauma for many in the territory’s community,” the submission read.

Tony Bartlett gave evidence to the inquiry as a Canberra citizen, but drew on his years of experience in fire management roles in the ACT and Victoria.

He said by doing fire protection planning in a “piecemeal way, you’re just inviting a disaster in the future”.

“I’m not against some development to the west there, my view is it should be built to the standards that’ll be okay by 2050 as well, to withstand a major bushfire coming up from the Murrumbidgee River … and I don’t see that happening,” Mr Bartlett said.

Mr Bartlett added that he thought the preliminary bushfire risk assessment for the Western Edge Study Area prepared by a consultant in 2021 was “atrocious”.

“It made false assumptions left, right and centre,” he said.

“For instance, it said that the major risk would be from a fire burning downhill towards the Murrumbidgee.”

“Now, in 2003, anyone who was here in that year knows the major risk is a fire coming from the west and then burning angrily uphill. It said Mount Stromlo was low bushfire risk. Well, we saw what happened on Mount Stromlo.”

“So it was prepared by people who don’t understand bushfire risks.”

A report will be prepared for the ACT Legislative Assembly based on the inquiry’s findings.