❓ Question regarding public response to the 'Are You Bushfire Ready?' campaign, with the Minister providing website statistics and highlighting the importance of year-round bushfire preparation, amidst interruptions and acknowledgements of recent bushfire events.
AnsweredQoN 59Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
''ARE
YOU BUSHFIRE READY?'' CAMPAIGN — PUBLIC RESPONSE
59. Mr F.A. ALBAN to the
Minister for Fire and Emergency Services:
Before I ask my question, I acknowledge in the gallery the
primary school children from Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, Nollamara, in
the member for Morley's electorate.
As we near the end of a hot, dry summer, can the minister
please update the house on the public response to the ''Are You Bushfire
Ready?'' awareness campaign?
Mr M.P. Murray : I
love my yellow coat!
The SPEAKER :
Member for Collie–Preston, you must look very bright in that yellow
coat. I call you to order for the first time.
YOU BUSHFIRE READY?'' CAMPAIGN — PUBLIC RESPONSE
59. Mr F.A. ALBAN to the
Minister for Fire and Emergency Services:
Before I ask my question, I acknowledge in the gallery the
primary school children from Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, Nollamara, in
the member for Morley's electorate.
As we near the end of a hot, dry summer, can the minister
please update the house on the public response to the ''Are You Bushfire
Ready?'' awareness campaign?
Mr M.P. Murray : I
love my yellow coat!
The SPEAKER :
Member for Collie–Preston, you must look very bright in that yellow
coat. I call you to order for the first time.
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Swan Hills for the question, and can I
again pass on, I am sure on behalf of every single member of this house, my
sympathies to the 57 families in the member's electorate who lost their
homes during that massive bushfire at the start of the year—a
significant event that required an unprecedented amount of resources.
Dr A.D. Buti interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Armadale, I call you to order for the first time. Minister, carry
on, please.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS : I
have not even started, Mr Speaker.
If the member for Swan Hills would
convey our sympathy to those families, I would very much appreciate it. I am
sure we all feel deeply for them.
Obviously we have spent an awful lot
of money on resources to prepare for what was always going to be a very
challenging fire season.
Ms
M.M. Quirk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you very much, member for Girrawheen. I call you to order
for the first time.
Mr
J.M. FRANCIS : That is a wonderful example for the children in the gallery!
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Members!
Mr
J.M. FRANCIS : We spent an unprecedented amount of money —
Mr
F.M. Logan interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Cockburn. I call you to order for the first
time. Minister, through the Chair, please.
Mr
J.M. FRANCIS : We spent an unprecedented amount of money preparing resources
so that we could respond to what was going to be a very challenging fire
season, and it proved to be every bit as difficult as we expected, with two
major bushfires, one in Parkerville and one in Banjup in my electorate.
Part of our preparation was to try to encourage residents to
do their bit and get their blocks ready and do some fire risk mitigation, and
we ran a significant campaign on that. I appreciate the contribution of Western
Power in the ''Are You Bushfire Ready?'' campaign, led by our
Victoria Cross winner Ben Roberts-Smith. ]
It is worth noting the significant response to that campaign.
The website traffic is traceable —
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS :
She is not going to ask me a question, I know that.
We know that from 1 December until this day, 26 000 people
have visited the website. In December, 37 per cent of people who visited the
website downloaded the checklist, which related to people taking positive action,
getting the information —
The SPEAKER :
Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the second time. Minister, speak
through the Chair and speed it up, please.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS :
Until the Parkerville fire, 37 per cent of people downloaded the information.
After the Parkerville fire, the percentage of people who visited the website
and downloaded the checklist rose to 67 per cent. Over 80 per cent of visitors
to the site were first-time visitors, which equates to 21 000 people who
obviously live in a bushfire-prone area and who are now better informed about
the responsibility of getting their property ready for the fire season. We are
not at the end of this fire season—there is still some time to go. Bush
fire preparation is a year-round task. It cannot be left until the start of
summer or until there is a fire; it is done all year round. If people live on a
block in a bushfire-prone area, they should take action all year round to get
ready for the fire season. The website statistics tell us that people took
action and got ready. It is great that the government has taken some positive
action in this area and encouraged people to take some responsibility and get
their block ready because we never know when —
Mr P.C. Tinley interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member
for Willagee, I call you to order for the first time. Minister, wind it up.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS :
We never know when a bushfire might come to our area—it is very
unpredictable. A bushfire does not listen to laws of the Parliament; it listens
to the laws of nature. I know that many people downloaded this information and
it was very beneficial. Again, I thank the member for Swan Hills for passing on
that message to his constituents and I acknowledge the contribution of Western
Power to this campaign.
again pass on, I am sure on behalf of every single member of this house, my
sympathies to the 57 families in the member's electorate who lost their
homes during that massive bushfire at the start of the year—a
significant event that required an unprecedented amount of resources.
Dr A.D. Buti interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Armadale, I call you to order for the first time. Minister, carry
on, please.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS : I
have not even started, Mr Speaker.
If the member for Swan Hills would
convey our sympathy to those families, I would very much appreciate it. I am
sure we all feel deeply for them.
Obviously we have spent an awful lot
of money on resources to prepare for what was always going to be a very
challenging fire season.
Ms
M.M. Quirk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you very much, member for Girrawheen. I call you to order
for the first time.
Mr
J.M. FRANCIS : That is a wonderful example for the children in the gallery!
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Members!
Mr
J.M. FRANCIS : We spent an unprecedented amount of money —
Mr
F.M. Logan interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Cockburn. I call you to order for the first
time. Minister, through the Chair, please.
Mr
J.M. FRANCIS : We spent an unprecedented amount of money preparing resources
so that we could respond to what was going to be a very challenging fire
season, and it proved to be every bit as difficult as we expected, with two
major bushfires, one in Parkerville and one in Banjup in my electorate.
Part of our preparation was to try to encourage residents to
do their bit and get their blocks ready and do some fire risk mitigation, and
we ran a significant campaign on that. I appreciate the contribution of Western
Power in the ''Are You Bushfire Ready?'' campaign, led by our
Victoria Cross winner Ben Roberts-Smith. ]
It is worth noting the significant response to that campaign.
The website traffic is traceable —
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS :
She is not going to ask me a question, I know that.
We know that from 1 December until this day, 26 000 people
have visited the website. In December, 37 per cent of people who visited the
website downloaded the checklist, which related to people taking positive action,
getting the information —
The SPEAKER :
Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the second time. Minister, speak
through the Chair and speed it up, please.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS :
Until the Parkerville fire, 37 per cent of people downloaded the information.
After the Parkerville fire, the percentage of people who visited the website
and downloaded the checklist rose to 67 per cent. Over 80 per cent of visitors
to the site were first-time visitors, which equates to 21 000 people who
obviously live in a bushfire-prone area and who are now better informed about
the responsibility of getting their property ready for the fire season. We are
not at the end of this fire season—there is still some time to go. Bush
fire preparation is a year-round task. It cannot be left until the start of
summer or until there is a fire; it is done all year round. If people live on a
block in a bushfire-prone area, they should take action all year round to get
ready for the fire season. The website statistics tell us that people took
action and got ready. It is great that the government has taken some positive
action in this area and encouraged people to take some responsibility and get
their block ready because we never know when —
Mr P.C. Tinley interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member
for Willagee, I call you to order for the first time. Minister, wind it up.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS :
We never know when a bushfire might come to our area—it is very
unpredictable. A bushfire does not listen to laws of the Parliament; it listens
to the laws of nature. I know that many people downloaded this information and
it was very beneficial. Again, I thank the member for Swan Hills for passing on
that message to his constituents and I acknowledge the contribution of Western
Power to this campaign.
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