❓ Mr. Simpson asks about bushfire protection measures in light of predictions for a high-risk fire season. Mr. Johnson responds, detailing the continuation of a Fire King helicopter trial and collaboration with the Commonwealth for funding.
AnsweredQoN 47Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
BUSHFIRE PROTECTION
As we approach the summer period, several agencies, including the Conservation Council of Western Australia, fire authorities and the Bureau of Meteorology, are predicting that Western Australia will face an early and high-risk fire season. What action is the state government taking to ensure that the people, property and local communities in my electorate of Darling Range and throughout the state are protected from the impact of bushfires? Mr R.F. JOHNSON
As we approach the summer period, several agencies, including the Conservation Council of Western Australia, fire authorities and the Bureau of Meteorology, are predicting that Western Australia will face an early and high-risk fire season. What action is the state government taking to ensure that the people, property and local communities in my electorate of Darling Range and throughout the state are protected from the impact of bushfires? Mr R.F. JOHNSON
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. I know that he has a serious concern about fire. Mrs M.H. Roberts : It’s a burning issue. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes, it is a burning issue. Many country and regional members also have this concern. I am very happy to say that the state government has continued the trial that the previous government had in place last year with a Fire King helicopter, which has enormous potential and is able to drop four times the amount of water as that of conventional helicopters. The previous minister was very supportive of this trial. When the presentation was made to me and cabinet, cabinet agreed to the continuation of the trial. The trial will continue for a further three years and then it will be reviewed. The problem at the moment is that the dryness in the soil in Western Australia is five times deeper than it has been for decades. Such dryness encourages fires to spread far more rapidly. The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted that we can expect a very long and hot summer and a very high risk of an abundance of bushfires that could cause enormous problems throughout the area. We have made the wise decision to continue the trial that the previous government had in place last year. It can take credit for that; I would not deny it that. We need to ensure that we have enough capabilities to deal with those fires. The beauty of this helicopter is that it will not just assist those members such as my colleague who asked the question; it will go much further afield than that. It will cover the south west land division and the north coastal areas of the outer metropolitan area. When the helicopter was trialled last year, it attended 46 incidents and dropped 2.3 million litres of water. It played a key role in protecting 47 properties, saving 10 properties from fire damage. That is the importance of this particular helicopter. I urge all members of Parliament to ensure that their communities are prepared for what could be a very horrendous fire season by ensuring that trees and scrub around their homes are cleared. The Fire and Emergency Services Authority’s predictions are based on the predictions from the meteorology office. Mr J.C. Kobelke : I congratulate the minister on that. Is there special commonwealth funding to help with that, as there was previously? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes. It would be very difficult to run this helicopter purely on our funding. There is a grant from the commonwealth. The state government still has to fund a huge amount of money, but we believe that our citizens and the properties in those areas that are prone to bushfires and other horrendous fires that can even spread throughout the metropolitan area will be protected by this superb helicopter that we will have for the next three years.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: I thank the member for the question. I know that he has a serious concern about fire. Mrs M.H. Roberts : It’s a burning issue. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes, it is a burning issue. Many country and regional members also have this concern. I am very happy to say that the state government has continued the trial that the previous government had in place last year with a Fire King helicopter, which has enormous potential and is able to drop four times the amount of water as that of conventional helicopters. The previous minister was very supportive of this trial. When the presentation was made to me and cabinet, cabinet agreed to the continuation of the trial. The trial will continue for a further three years and then it will be reviewed. The problem at the moment is that the dryness in the soil in Western Australia is five times deeper than it has been for decades. Such dryness encourages fires to spread far more rapidly. The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted that we can expect a very long and hot summer and a very high risk of an abundance of bushfires that could cause enormous problems throughout the area. We have made the wise decision to continue the trial that the previous government had in place last year. It can take credit for that; I would not deny it that. We need to ensure that we have enough capabilities to deal with those fires. The beauty of this helicopter is that it will not just assist those members such as my colleague who asked the question; it will go much further afield than that. It will cover the south west land division and the north coastal areas of the outer metropolitan area. When the helicopter was trialled last year, it attended 46 incidents and dropped 2.3 million litres of water. It played a key role in protecting 47 properties, saving 10 properties from fire damage. That is the importance of this particular helicopter. I urge all members of Parliament to ensure that their communities are prepared for what could be a very horrendous fire season by ensuring that trees and scrub around their homes are cleared. The Fire and Emergency Services Authority’s predictions are based on the predictions from the meteorology office. Mr J.C. Kobelke : I congratulate the minister on that. Is there special commonwealth funding to help with that, as there was previously? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes. It would be very difficult to run this helicopter purely on our funding. There is a grant from the commonwealth. The state government still has to fund a huge amount of money, but we believe that our citizens and the properties in those areas that are prone to bushfires and other horrendous fires that can even spread throughout the metropolitan area will be protected by this superb helicopter that we will have for the next three years.
I thank the member for the question. I know that he has a serious concern about fire. Mrs M.H. Roberts : It’s a burning issue. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes, it is a burning issue. Many country and regional members also have this concern. I am very happy to say that the state government has continued the trial that the previous government had in place last year with a Fire King helicopter, which has enormous potential and is able to drop four times the amount of water as that of conventional helicopters. The previous minister was very supportive of this trial. When the presentation was made to me and cabinet, cabinet agreed to the continuation of the trial. The trial will continue for a further three years and then it will be reviewed. The problem at the moment is that the dryness in the soil in Western Australia is five times deeper than it has been for decades. Such dryness encourages fires to spread far more rapidly. The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted that we can expect a very long and hot summer and a very high risk of an abundance of bushfires that could cause enormous problems throughout the area. We have made the wise decision to continue the trial that the previous government had in place last year. It can take credit for that; I would not deny it that. We need to ensure that we have enough capabilities to deal with those fires. The beauty of this helicopter is that it will not just assist those members such as my colleague who asked the question; it will go much further afield than that. It will cover the south west land division and the north coastal areas of the outer metropolitan area. When the helicopter was trialled last year, it attended 46 incidents and dropped 2.3 million litres of water. It played a key role in protecting 47 properties, saving 10 properties from fire damage. That is the importance of this particular helicopter. I urge all members of Parliament to ensure that their communities are prepared for what could be a very horrendous fire season by ensuring that trees and scrub around their homes are cleared. The Fire and Emergency Services Authority’s predictions are based on the predictions from the meteorology office. Mr J.C. Kobelke : I congratulate the minister on that. Is there special commonwealth funding to help with that, as there was previously? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes. It would be very difficult to run this helicopter purely on our funding. There is a grant from the commonwealth. The state government still has to fund a huge amount of money, but we believe that our citizens and the properties in those areas that are prone to bushfires and other horrendous fires that can even spread throughout the metropolitan area will be protected by this superb helicopter that we will have for the next three years.
Mrs M.H. Roberts : It’s a burning issue. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes, it is a burning issue. Many country and regional members also have this concern. I am very happy to say that the state government has continued the trial that the previous government had in place last year with a Fire King helicopter, which has enormous potential and is able to drop four times the amount of water as that of conventional helicopters. The previous minister was very supportive of this trial. When the presentation was made to me and cabinet, cabinet agreed to the continuation of the trial. The trial will continue for a further three years and then it will be reviewed. The problem at the moment is that the dryness in the soil in Western Australia is five times deeper than it has been for decades. Such dryness encourages fires to spread far more rapidly. The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted that we can expect a very long and hot summer and a very high risk of an abundance of bushfires that could cause enormous problems throughout the area. We have made the wise decision to continue the trial that the previous government had in place last year. It can take credit for that; I would not deny it that. We need to ensure that we have enough capabilities to deal with those fires. The beauty of this helicopter is that it will not just assist those members such as my colleague who asked the question; it will go much further afield than that. It will cover the south west land division and the north coastal areas of the outer metropolitan area. When the helicopter was trialled last year, it attended 46 incidents and dropped 2.3 million litres of water. It played a key role in protecting 47 properties, saving 10 properties from fire damage. That is the importance of this particular helicopter. I urge all members of Parliament to ensure that their communities are prepared for what could be a very horrendous fire season by ensuring that trees and scrub around their homes are cleared. The Fire and Emergency Services Authority’s predictions are based on the predictions from the meteorology office. Mr J.C. Kobelke : I congratulate the minister on that. Is there special commonwealth funding to help with that, as there was previously? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes. It would be very difficult to run this helicopter purely on our funding. There is a grant from the commonwealth. The state government still has to fund a huge amount of money, but we believe that our citizens and the properties in those areas that are prone to bushfires and other horrendous fires that can even spread throughout the metropolitan area will be protected by this superb helicopter that we will have for the next three years.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes, it is a burning issue. Many country and regional members also have this concern. I am very happy to say that the state government has continued the trial that the previous government had in place last year with a Fire King helicopter, which has enormous potential and is able to drop four times the amount of water as that of conventional helicopters. The previous minister was very supportive of this trial. When the presentation was made to me and cabinet, cabinet agreed to the continuation of the trial. The trial will continue for a further three years and then it will be reviewed. The problem at the moment is that the dryness in the soil in Western Australia is five times deeper than it has been for decades. Such dryness encourages fires to spread far more rapidly. The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted that we can expect a very long and hot summer and a very high risk of an abundance of bushfires that could cause enormous problems throughout the area. We have made the wise decision to continue the trial that the previous government had in place last year. It can take credit for that; I would not deny it that. We need to ensure that we have enough capabilities to deal with those fires. The beauty of this helicopter is that it will not just assist those members such as my colleague who asked the question; it will go much further afield than that. It will cover the south west land division and the north coastal areas of the outer metropolitan area. When the helicopter was trialled last year, it attended 46 incidents and dropped 2.3 million litres of water. It played a key role in protecting 47 properties, saving 10 properties from fire damage. That is the importance of this particular helicopter. I urge all members of Parliament to ensure that their communities are prepared for what could be a very horrendous fire season by ensuring that trees and scrub around their homes are cleared. The Fire and Emergency Services Authority’s predictions are based on the predictions from the meteorology office. Mr J.C. Kobelke : I congratulate the minister on that. Is there special commonwealth funding to help with that, as there was previously? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes. It would be very difficult to run this helicopter purely on our funding. There is a grant from the commonwealth. The state government still has to fund a huge amount of money, but we believe that our citizens and the properties in those areas that are prone to bushfires and other horrendous fires that can even spread throughout the metropolitan area will be protected by this superb helicopter that we will have for the next three years.
The problem at the moment is that the dryness in the soil in Western Australia is five times deeper than it has been for decades. Such dryness encourages fires to spread far more rapidly. The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted that we can expect a very long and hot summer and a very high risk of an abundance of bushfires that could cause enormous problems throughout the area. We have made the wise decision to continue the trial that the previous government had in place last year. It can take credit for that; I would not deny it that. We need to ensure that we have enough capabilities to deal with those fires. The beauty of this helicopter is that it will not just assist those members such as my colleague who asked the question; it will go much further afield than that. It will cover the south west land division and the north coastal areas of the outer metropolitan area. When the helicopter was trialled last year, it attended 46 incidents and dropped 2.3 million litres of water. It played a key role in protecting 47 properties, saving 10 properties from fire damage. That is the importance of this particular helicopter. I urge all members of Parliament to ensure that their communities are prepared for what could be a very horrendous fire season by ensuring that trees and scrub around their homes are cleared. The Fire and Emergency Services Authority’s predictions are based on the predictions from the meteorology office. Mr J.C. Kobelke : I congratulate the minister on that. Is there special commonwealth funding to help with that, as there was previously? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes. It would be very difficult to run this helicopter purely on our funding. There is a grant from the commonwealth. The state government still has to fund a huge amount of money, but we believe that our citizens and the properties in those areas that are prone to bushfires and other horrendous fires that can even spread throughout the metropolitan area will be protected by this superb helicopter that we will have for the next three years.
Mr J.C. Kobelke : I congratulate the minister on that. Is there special commonwealth funding to help with that, as there was previously? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes. It would be very difficult to run this helicopter purely on our funding. There is a grant from the commonwealth. The state government still has to fund a huge amount of money, but we believe that our citizens and the properties in those areas that are prone to bushfires and other horrendous fires that can even spread throughout the metropolitan area will be protected by this superb helicopter that we will have for the next three years.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes. It would be very difficult to run this helicopter purely on our funding. There is a grant from the commonwealth. The state government still has to fund a huge amount of money, but we believe that our citizens and the properties in those areas that are prone to bushfires and other horrendous fires that can even spread throughout the metropolitan area will be protected by this superb helicopter that we will have for the next three years.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: I thank the member for the question. I know that he has a serious concern about fire. Mrs M.H. Roberts : It’s a burning issue. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes, it is a burning issue. Many country and regional members also have this concern. I am very happy to say that the state government has continued the trial that the previous government had in place last year with a Fire King helicopter, which has enormous potential and is able to drop four times the amount of water as that of conventional helicopters. The previous minister was very supportive of this trial. When the presentation was made to me and cabinet, cabinet agreed to the continuation of the trial. The trial will continue for a further three years and then it will be reviewed. The problem at the moment is that the dryness in the soil in Western Australia is five times deeper than it has been for decades. Such dryness encourages fires to spread far more rapidly. The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted that we can expect a very long and hot summer and a very high risk of an abundance of bushfires that could cause enormous problems throughout the area. We have made the wise decision to continue the trial that the previous government had in place last year. It can take credit for that; I would not deny it that. We need to ensure that we have enough capabilities to deal with those fires. The beauty of this helicopter is that it will not just assist those members such as my colleague who asked the question; it will go much further afield than that. It will cover the south west land division and the north coastal areas of the outer metropolitan area. When the helicopter was trialled last year, it attended 46 incidents and dropped 2.3 million litres of water. It played a key role in protecting 47 properties, saving 10 properties from fire damage. That is the importance of this particular helicopter. I urge all members of Parliament to ensure that their communities are prepared for what could be a very horrendous fire season by ensuring that trees and scrub around their homes are cleared. The Fire and Emergency Services Authority’s predictions are based on the predictions from the meteorology office. Mr J.C. Kobelke : I congratulate the minister on that. Is there special commonwealth funding to help with that, as there was previously? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes. It would be very difficult to run this helicopter purely on our funding. There is a grant from the commonwealth. The state government still has to fund a huge amount of money, but we believe that our citizens and the properties in those areas that are prone to bushfires and other horrendous fires that can even spread throughout the metropolitan area will be protected by this superb helicopter that we will have for the next three years.
I thank the member for the question. I know that he has a serious concern about fire. Mrs M.H. Roberts : It’s a burning issue. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes, it is a burning issue. Many country and regional members also have this concern. I am very happy to say that the state government has continued the trial that the previous government had in place last year with a Fire King helicopter, which has enormous potential and is able to drop four times the amount of water as that of conventional helicopters. The previous minister was very supportive of this trial. When the presentation was made to me and cabinet, cabinet agreed to the continuation of the trial. The trial will continue for a further three years and then it will be reviewed. The problem at the moment is that the dryness in the soil in Western Australia is five times deeper than it has been for decades. Such dryness encourages fires to spread far more rapidly. The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted that we can expect a very long and hot summer and a very high risk of an abundance of bushfires that could cause enormous problems throughout the area. We have made the wise decision to continue the trial that the previous government had in place last year. It can take credit for that; I would not deny it that. We need to ensure that we have enough capabilities to deal with those fires. The beauty of this helicopter is that it will not just assist those members such as my colleague who asked the question; it will go much further afield than that. It will cover the south west land division and the north coastal areas of the outer metropolitan area. When the helicopter was trialled last year, it attended 46 incidents and dropped 2.3 million litres of water. It played a key role in protecting 47 properties, saving 10 properties from fire damage. That is the importance of this particular helicopter. I urge all members of Parliament to ensure that their communities are prepared for what could be a very horrendous fire season by ensuring that trees and scrub around their homes are cleared. The Fire and Emergency Services Authority’s predictions are based on the predictions from the meteorology office. Mr J.C. Kobelke : I congratulate the minister on that. Is there special commonwealth funding to help with that, as there was previously? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes. It would be very difficult to run this helicopter purely on our funding. There is a grant from the commonwealth. The state government still has to fund a huge amount of money, but we believe that our citizens and the properties in those areas that are prone to bushfires and other horrendous fires that can even spread throughout the metropolitan area will be protected by this superb helicopter that we will have for the next three years.
Mrs M.H. Roberts : It’s a burning issue. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes, it is a burning issue. Many country and regional members also have this concern. I am very happy to say that the state government has continued the trial that the previous government had in place last year with a Fire King helicopter, which has enormous potential and is able to drop four times the amount of water as that of conventional helicopters. The previous minister was very supportive of this trial. When the presentation was made to me and cabinet, cabinet agreed to the continuation of the trial. The trial will continue for a further three years and then it will be reviewed. The problem at the moment is that the dryness in the soil in Western Australia is five times deeper than it has been for decades. Such dryness encourages fires to spread far more rapidly. The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted that we can expect a very long and hot summer and a very high risk of an abundance of bushfires that could cause enormous problems throughout the area. We have made the wise decision to continue the trial that the previous government had in place last year. It can take credit for that; I would not deny it that. We need to ensure that we have enough capabilities to deal with those fires. The beauty of this helicopter is that it will not just assist those members such as my colleague who asked the question; it will go much further afield than that. It will cover the south west land division and the north coastal areas of the outer metropolitan area. When the helicopter was trialled last year, it attended 46 incidents and dropped 2.3 million litres of water. It played a key role in protecting 47 properties, saving 10 properties from fire damage. That is the importance of this particular helicopter. I urge all members of Parliament to ensure that their communities are prepared for what could be a very horrendous fire season by ensuring that trees and scrub around their homes are cleared. The Fire and Emergency Services Authority’s predictions are based on the predictions from the meteorology office. Mr J.C. Kobelke : I congratulate the minister on that. Is there special commonwealth funding to help with that, as there was previously? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes. It would be very difficult to run this helicopter purely on our funding. There is a grant from the commonwealth. The state government still has to fund a huge amount of money, but we believe that our citizens and the properties in those areas that are prone to bushfires and other horrendous fires that can even spread throughout the metropolitan area will be protected by this superb helicopter that we will have for the next three years.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes, it is a burning issue. Many country and regional members also have this concern. I am very happy to say that the state government has continued the trial that the previous government had in place last year with a Fire King helicopter, which has enormous potential and is able to drop four times the amount of water as that of conventional helicopters. The previous minister was very supportive of this trial. When the presentation was made to me and cabinet, cabinet agreed to the continuation of the trial. The trial will continue for a further three years and then it will be reviewed. The problem at the moment is that the dryness in the soil in Western Australia is five times deeper than it has been for decades. Such dryness encourages fires to spread far more rapidly. The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted that we can expect a very long and hot summer and a very high risk of an abundance of bushfires that could cause enormous problems throughout the area. We have made the wise decision to continue the trial that the previous government had in place last year. It can take credit for that; I would not deny it that. We need to ensure that we have enough capabilities to deal with those fires. The beauty of this helicopter is that it will not just assist those members such as my colleague who asked the question; it will go much further afield than that. It will cover the south west land division and the north coastal areas of the outer metropolitan area. When the helicopter was trialled last year, it attended 46 incidents and dropped 2.3 million litres of water. It played a key role in protecting 47 properties, saving 10 properties from fire damage. That is the importance of this particular helicopter. I urge all members of Parliament to ensure that their communities are prepared for what could be a very horrendous fire season by ensuring that trees and scrub around their homes are cleared. The Fire and Emergency Services Authority’s predictions are based on the predictions from the meteorology office. Mr J.C. Kobelke : I congratulate the minister on that. Is there special commonwealth funding to help with that, as there was previously? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes. It would be very difficult to run this helicopter purely on our funding. There is a grant from the commonwealth. The state government still has to fund a huge amount of money, but we believe that our citizens and the properties in those areas that are prone to bushfires and other horrendous fires that can even spread throughout the metropolitan area will be protected by this superb helicopter that we will have for the next three years.
The problem at the moment is that the dryness in the soil in Western Australia is five times deeper than it has been for decades. Such dryness encourages fires to spread far more rapidly. The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted that we can expect a very long and hot summer and a very high risk of an abundance of bushfires that could cause enormous problems throughout the area. We have made the wise decision to continue the trial that the previous government had in place last year. It can take credit for that; I would not deny it that. We need to ensure that we have enough capabilities to deal with those fires. The beauty of this helicopter is that it will not just assist those members such as my colleague who asked the question; it will go much further afield than that. It will cover the south west land division and the north coastal areas of the outer metropolitan area. When the helicopter was trialled last year, it attended 46 incidents and dropped 2.3 million litres of water. It played a key role in protecting 47 properties, saving 10 properties from fire damage. That is the importance of this particular helicopter. I urge all members of Parliament to ensure that their communities are prepared for what could be a very horrendous fire season by ensuring that trees and scrub around their homes are cleared. The Fire and Emergency Services Authority’s predictions are based on the predictions from the meteorology office. Mr J.C. Kobelke : I congratulate the minister on that. Is there special commonwealth funding to help with that, as there was previously? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes. It would be very difficult to run this helicopter purely on our funding. There is a grant from the commonwealth. The state government still has to fund a huge amount of money, but we believe that our citizens and the properties in those areas that are prone to bushfires and other horrendous fires that can even spread throughout the metropolitan area will be protected by this superb helicopter that we will have for the next three years.
Mr J.C. Kobelke : I congratulate the minister on that. Is there special commonwealth funding to help with that, as there was previously? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes. It would be very difficult to run this helicopter purely on our funding. There is a grant from the commonwealth. The state government still has to fund a huge amount of money, but we believe that our citizens and the properties in those areas that are prone to bushfires and other horrendous fires that can even spread throughout the metropolitan area will be protected by this superb helicopter that we will have for the next three years.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Yes. It would be very difficult to run this helicopter purely on our funding. There is a grant from the commonwealth. The state government still has to fund a huge amount of money, but we believe that our citizens and the properties in those areas that are prone to bushfires and other horrendous fires that can even spread throughout the metropolitan area will be protected by this superb helicopter that we will have for the next three years.
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