❓ A parliamentary question regarding the Waroona-Yarloop bushfires, specifically concerning burn-off targets and the Minister's attendance at a related event. The Minister deflects responsibility for burn-off targets and states the government is giving 'mature consideration' to the Ferguson Report recommendations.
AnsweredQoN 427Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WAROONA–YARLOOP BUSHFIRES —
FERGUSON REPORT
427. Mr D.A. TEMPLEMAN to the Minister
for Emergency Services:
Before I ask my question I would like to acknowledge the tremendous
students from St Joseph's College in Albany on behalf of the member for
Albany.
I refer to the Waroona fire special report and the many recommendations
involving the Department of Fire and Emergency Services.
(1) Why has the government consistently
failed to meet its burn-off targets, and does the minister support DFES taking
over these responsibilities?
(2) Why did the minister and Commissioner
Wayne Gregson not accompany the Premier to the event in Harvey this morning?
FERGUSON REPORT
427. Mr D.A. TEMPLEMAN to the Minister
for Emergency Services:
Before I ask my question I would like to acknowledge the tremendous
students from St Joseph's College in Albany on behalf of the member for
Albany.
I refer to the Waroona fire special report and the many recommendations
involving the Department of Fire and Emergency Services.
(1) Why has the government consistently
failed to meet its burn-off targets, and does the minister support DFES taking
over these responsibilities?
(2) Why did the minister and Commissioner
Wayne Gregson not accompany the Premier to the event in Harvey this morning?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) Let me answer the last
question first. If I was in Harvey today, members opposite would be screaming
that I was avoiding the scrutiny of question time.
Several members interjected.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS : You would be saying, ''Why was the
minister down there? The Premier's already down there. Euan Ferguson's
down there. What was he doing down there?'' You cannot win; you just
cannot win! I am here so that I can answer the member's questions. That
is why I am here and not down there.
The other question as far as burn-off targets is concerned —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Cockburn.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS : Unfortunately, they tend to do this from
time to time; they ask the wrong minister. The Minister for Environment is
responsible for prescribed burning.
Mr M. McGowan : You are here to answer the questions. You
just said that.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS : About my portfolio. If it is about the
Minister for Environment's portfolio, members opposite should ask him.
Mr M. McGowan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition!
Mr J.M. FRANCIS : He is sitting right here. The member asked
the wrong minister. Oops, you've done it again!
The SPEAKER : Through the Chair!
Point of Order
Mr M. McGOWAN : The question was very clear: does the
minister support his own agency taking over that responsibility? It was not a question
to another minister.
The
SPEAKER : Right, thank you.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr J.M. FRANCIS : To come to the question seriously, what I do
support is the same position as the Leader of the Opposition. To quote the
Leader of the Opposition from his media release, it deserves mature
consideration. I agree with the Leader of the Opposition. That is what the
government is going to do.
Mr D.J. Kelly interjected.
The SPEAKER : Sit down. Member for Bassendean, I call you to order for the first time.
Minister, quickly.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS : What I would say is that one of the key
recommendations in that report, if not the biggest recommendation, was about
whether we should establish a rural fire service. I know that the Leader of the
Opposition asked the Premier about that on Tuesday. It is not an easy answer.
As members will have seen from an article in The West Australian today, there are a lot of different views on
this. Before we can consider who should take over what responsibility and
whether there should be a rural fire service, we have to ask: what is the
primary aim of what we are trying to achieve? Obviously, if it is going to make
the state a safer place, we would have to give it some consideration. If the
primary role of such a service is to ensure that we get a more coordinated
approach around different agencies and across different levels of government—state,
local and federal—and to play a role in mitigation and hazard risk
reduction, obviously we need to give that some serious consideration. With all
due respect to the Leader of the Opposition, he knows that it is not a question
that can be answered that simply.
question first. If I was in Harvey today, members opposite would be screaming
that I was avoiding the scrutiny of question time.
Several members interjected.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS : You would be saying, ''Why was the
minister down there? The Premier's already down there. Euan Ferguson's
down there. What was he doing down there?'' You cannot win; you just
cannot win! I am here so that I can answer the member's questions. That
is why I am here and not down there.
The other question as far as burn-off targets is concerned —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Cockburn.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS : Unfortunately, they tend to do this from
time to time; they ask the wrong minister. The Minister for Environment is
responsible for prescribed burning.
Mr M. McGowan : You are here to answer the questions. You
just said that.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS : About my portfolio. If it is about the
Minister for Environment's portfolio, members opposite should ask him.
Mr M. McGowan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition!
Mr J.M. FRANCIS : He is sitting right here. The member asked
the wrong minister. Oops, you've done it again!
The SPEAKER : Through the Chair!
Point of Order
Mr M. McGOWAN : The question was very clear: does the
minister support his own agency taking over that responsibility? It was not a question
to another minister.
The
SPEAKER : Right, thank you.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr J.M. FRANCIS : To come to the question seriously, what I do
support is the same position as the Leader of the Opposition. To quote the
Leader of the Opposition from his media release, it deserves mature
consideration. I agree with the Leader of the Opposition. That is what the
government is going to do.
Mr D.J. Kelly interjected.
The SPEAKER : Sit down. Member for Bassendean, I call you to order for the first time.
Minister, quickly.
Mr J.M. FRANCIS : What I would say is that one of the key
recommendations in that report, if not the biggest recommendation, was about
whether we should establish a rural fire service. I know that the Leader of the
Opposition asked the Premier about that on Tuesday. It is not an easy answer.
As members will have seen from an article in The West Australian today, there are a lot of different views on
this. Before we can consider who should take over what responsibility and
whether there should be a rural fire service, we have to ask: what is the
primary aim of what we are trying to achieve? Obviously, if it is going to make
the state a safer place, we would have to give it some consideration. If the
primary role of such a service is to ensure that we get a more coordinated
approach around different agencies and across different levels of government—state,
local and federal—and to play a role in mitigation and hazard risk
reduction, obviously we need to give that some serious consideration. With all
due respect to the Leader of the Opposition, he knows that it is not a question
that can be answered that simply.
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