❓ Question regarding the Lake Clifton bushfire and the lack of natural disaster declaration, impacting community compensation and amenity. The Premier acknowledges the issue, explains the criteria focusing on public infrastructure damage, and highlights the immediate cash assistance provided.
AnsweredQoN 159Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
LAKE CLIFTON — BUSHFIRE
I refer to the fire that occurred in Lake Clifton in January this year destroying 10 homes and damaging another 80. (1) Why has the event not been declared a natural disaster? (2) Is the Premier aware that if the community does not get compensation, it will be at a serious disadvantage and will suffer a considerable loss of amenity? (3) Has the Premier received representations from community representatives concerning the making of such a declaration; and, if so, what action has the Premier taken in response to these representations? Mr C.J. BARNETT
I refer to the fire that occurred in Lake Clifton in January this year destroying 10 homes and damaging another 80. (1) Why has the event not been declared a natural disaster? (2) Is the Premier aware that if the community does not get compensation, it will be at a serious disadvantage and will suffer a considerable loss of amenity? (3) Has the Premier received representations from community representatives concerning the making of such a declaration; and, if so, what action has the Premier taken in response to these representations? Mr C.J. BARNETT
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Girrawheen for the question. It is a good question and an important one. (1)–(3) There is always some sort of inequality, I guess, in declaring or not declaring a natural disaster area. For example, the fires in Toodyay and the floods in Carnarvon clearly met the criteria, as indeed did the recent damage in Warmun. The other extreme is, say a lightning strike hits a house in Perth and it burns down and one person loses everything; is that a natural disaster? According to the criteria, no it is not. A “natural disaster” refers to widespread damage across a large number of people. Lake Clifton is one of those areas that would be in between. The Western Australia natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements criteria can be difficult to disentangle, but basically a natural disaster requires a level of damage to public infrastructure. It is not about private homes or private loss of property; it relates to public infrastructure, as in the case of, say, Toodyay, where that was very clear, and in the case of Carnarvon, where there was very clear damage to road, bridges and the like. That did not happen in Lake Clifton. There was damage to the power supply system of Western Power; Western Power is a government trading enterprise and it is deemed to be commercial, so its losses are not covered by the criteria for damage to public infrastructure. It sounds a bit contradictory and it is, but that is the criteria. This state government, however, provided immediate cash assistance of $3 000 to those families affected, and other assistance has been provided. So there is an element of unfairness about it, but that is the criteria.
(1) Why has the event not been declared a natural disaster? (2) Is the Premier aware that if the community does not get compensation, it will be at a serious disadvantage and will suffer a considerable loss of amenity? (3) Has the Premier received representations from community representatives concerning the making of such a declaration; and, if so, what action has the Premier taken in response to these representations? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for Girrawheen for the question. It is a good question and an important one. (1)–(3) There is always some sort of inequality, I guess, in declaring or not declaring a natural disaster area. For example, the fires in Toodyay and the floods in Carnarvon clearly met the criteria, as indeed did the recent damage in Warmun. The other extreme is, say a lightning strike hits a house in Perth and it burns down and one person loses everything; is that a natural disaster? According to the criteria, no it is not. A “natural disaster” refers to widespread damage across a large number of people. Lake Clifton is one of those areas that would be in between. The Western Australia natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements criteria can be difficult to disentangle, but basically a natural disaster requires a level of damage to public infrastructure. It is not about private homes or private loss of property; it relates to public infrastructure, as in the case of, say, Toodyay, where that was very clear, and in the case of Carnarvon, where there was very clear damage to road, bridges and the like. That did not happen in Lake Clifton. There was damage to the power supply system of Western Power; Western Power is a government trading enterprise and it is deemed to be commercial, so its losses are not covered by the criteria for damage to public infrastructure. It sounds a bit contradictory and it is, but that is the criteria. This state government, however, provided immediate cash assistance of $3 000 to those families affected, and other assistance has been provided. So there is an element of unfairness about it, but that is the criteria.
(2) Is the Premier aware that if the community does not get compensation, it will be at a serious disadvantage and will suffer a considerable loss of amenity? (3) Has the Premier received representations from community representatives concerning the making of such a declaration; and, if so, what action has the Premier taken in response to these representations? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for Girrawheen for the question. It is a good question and an important one. (1)–(3) There is always some sort of inequality, I guess, in declaring or not declaring a natural disaster area. For example, the fires in Toodyay and the floods in Carnarvon clearly met the criteria, as indeed did the recent damage in Warmun. The other extreme is, say a lightning strike hits a house in Perth and it burns down and one person loses everything; is that a natural disaster? According to the criteria, no it is not. A “natural disaster” refers to widespread damage across a large number of people. Lake Clifton is one of those areas that would be in between. The Western Australia natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements criteria can be difficult to disentangle, but basically a natural disaster requires a level of damage to public infrastructure. It is not about private homes or private loss of property; it relates to public infrastructure, as in the case of, say, Toodyay, where that was very clear, and in the case of Carnarvon, where there was very clear damage to road, bridges and the like. That did not happen in Lake Clifton. There was damage to the power supply system of Western Power; Western Power is a government trading enterprise and it is deemed to be commercial, so its losses are not covered by the criteria for damage to public infrastructure. It sounds a bit contradictory and it is, but that is the criteria. This state government, however, provided immediate cash assistance of $3 000 to those families affected, and other assistance has been provided. So there is an element of unfairness about it, but that is the criteria.
(3) Has the Premier received representations from community representatives concerning the making of such a declaration; and, if so, what action has the Premier taken in response to these representations? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for Girrawheen for the question. It is a good question and an important one. (1)–(3) There is always some sort of inequality, I guess, in declaring or not declaring a natural disaster area. For example, the fires in Toodyay and the floods in Carnarvon clearly met the criteria, as indeed did the recent damage in Warmun. The other extreme is, say a lightning strike hits a house in Perth and it burns down and one person loses everything; is that a natural disaster? According to the criteria, no it is not. A “natural disaster” refers to widespread damage across a large number of people. Lake Clifton is one of those areas that would be in between. The Western Australia natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements criteria can be difficult to disentangle, but basically a natural disaster requires a level of damage to public infrastructure. It is not about private homes or private loss of property; it relates to public infrastructure, as in the case of, say, Toodyay, where that was very clear, and in the case of Carnarvon, where there was very clear damage to road, bridges and the like. That did not happen in Lake Clifton. There was damage to the power supply system of Western Power; Western Power is a government trading enterprise and it is deemed to be commercial, so its losses are not covered by the criteria for damage to public infrastructure. It sounds a bit contradictory and it is, but that is the criteria. This state government, however, provided immediate cash assistance of $3 000 to those families affected, and other assistance has been provided. So there is an element of unfairness about it, but that is the criteria.
Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for Girrawheen for the question. It is a good question and an important one. (1)–(3) There is always some sort of inequality, I guess, in declaring or not declaring a natural disaster area. For example, the fires in Toodyay and the floods in Carnarvon clearly met the criteria, as indeed did the recent damage in Warmun. The other extreme is, say a lightning strike hits a house in Perth and it burns down and one person loses everything; is that a natural disaster? According to the criteria, no it is not. A “natural disaster” refers to widespread damage across a large number of people. Lake Clifton is one of those areas that would be in between. The Western Australia natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements criteria can be difficult to disentangle, but basically a natural disaster requires a level of damage to public infrastructure. It is not about private homes or private loss of property; it relates to public infrastructure, as in the case of, say, Toodyay, where that was very clear, and in the case of Carnarvon, where there was very clear damage to road, bridges and the like. That did not happen in Lake Clifton. There was damage to the power supply system of Western Power; Western Power is a government trading enterprise and it is deemed to be commercial, so its losses are not covered by the criteria for damage to public infrastructure. It sounds a bit contradictory and it is, but that is the criteria. This state government, however, provided immediate cash assistance of $3 000 to those families affected, and other assistance has been provided. So there is an element of unfairness about it, but that is the criteria.
I thank the member for Girrawheen for the question. It is a good question and an important one. (1)–(3) There is always some sort of inequality, I guess, in declaring or not declaring a natural disaster area. For example, the fires in Toodyay and the floods in Carnarvon clearly met the criteria, as indeed did the recent damage in Warmun. The other extreme is, say a lightning strike hits a house in Perth and it burns down and one person loses everything; is that a natural disaster? According to the criteria, no it is not. A “natural disaster” refers to widespread damage across a large number of people. Lake Clifton is one of those areas that would be in between. The Western Australia natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements criteria can be difficult to disentangle, but basically a natural disaster requires a level of damage to public infrastructure. It is not about private homes or private loss of property; it relates to public infrastructure, as in the case of, say, Toodyay, where that was very clear, and in the case of Carnarvon, where there was very clear damage to road, bridges and the like. That did not happen in Lake Clifton. There was damage to the power supply system of Western Power; Western Power is a government trading enterprise and it is deemed to be commercial, so its losses are not covered by the criteria for damage to public infrastructure. It sounds a bit contradictory and it is, but that is the criteria. This state government, however, provided immediate cash assistance of $3 000 to those families affected, and other assistance has been provided. So there is an element of unfairness about it, but that is the criteria.
(1)–(3) There is always some sort of inequality, I guess, in declaring or not declaring a natural disaster area. For example, the fires in Toodyay and the floods in Carnarvon clearly met the criteria, as indeed did the recent damage in Warmun. The other extreme is, say a lightning strike hits a house in Perth and it burns down and one person loses everything; is that a natural disaster? According to the criteria, no it is not. A “natural disaster” refers to widespread damage across a large number of people. Lake Clifton is one of those areas that would be in between. The Western Australia natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements criteria can be difficult to disentangle, but basically a natural disaster requires a level of damage to public infrastructure. It is not about private homes or private loss of property; it relates to public infrastructure, as in the case of, say, Toodyay, where that was very clear, and in the case of Carnarvon, where there was very clear damage to road, bridges and the like. That did not happen in Lake Clifton. There was damage to the power supply system of Western Power; Western Power is a government trading enterprise and it is deemed to be commercial, so its losses are not covered by the criteria for damage to public infrastructure. It sounds a bit contradictory and it is, but that is the criteria. This state government, however, provided immediate cash assistance of $3 000 to those families affected, and other assistance has been provided. So there is an element of unfairness about it, but that is the criteria.
(1) Why has the event not been declared a natural disaster? (2) Is the Premier aware that if the community does not get compensation, it will be at a serious disadvantage and will suffer a considerable loss of amenity? (3) Has the Premier received representations from community representatives concerning the making of such a declaration; and, if so, what action has the Premier taken in response to these representations? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for Girrawheen for the question. It is a good question and an important one. (1)–(3) There is always some sort of inequality, I guess, in declaring or not declaring a natural disaster area. For example, the fires in Toodyay and the floods in Carnarvon clearly met the criteria, as indeed did the recent damage in Warmun. The other extreme is, say a lightning strike hits a house in Perth and it burns down and one person loses everything; is that a natural disaster? According to the criteria, no it is not. A “natural disaster” refers to widespread damage across a large number of people. Lake Clifton is one of those areas that would be in between. The Western Australia natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements criteria can be difficult to disentangle, but basically a natural disaster requires a level of damage to public infrastructure. It is not about private homes or private loss of property; it relates to public infrastructure, as in the case of, say, Toodyay, where that was very clear, and in the case of Carnarvon, where there was very clear damage to road, bridges and the like. That did not happen in Lake Clifton. There was damage to the power supply system of Western Power; Western Power is a government trading enterprise and it is deemed to be commercial, so its losses are not covered by the criteria for damage to public infrastructure. It sounds a bit contradictory and it is, but that is the criteria. This state government, however, provided immediate cash assistance of $3 000 to those families affected, and other assistance has been provided. So there is an element of unfairness about it, but that is the criteria.
(2) Is the Premier aware that if the community does not get compensation, it will be at a serious disadvantage and will suffer a considerable loss of amenity? (3) Has the Premier received representations from community representatives concerning the making of such a declaration; and, if so, what action has the Premier taken in response to these representations? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for Girrawheen for the question. It is a good question and an important one. (1)–(3) There is always some sort of inequality, I guess, in declaring or not declaring a natural disaster area. For example, the fires in Toodyay and the floods in Carnarvon clearly met the criteria, as indeed did the recent damage in Warmun. The other extreme is, say a lightning strike hits a house in Perth and it burns down and one person loses everything; is that a natural disaster? According to the criteria, no it is not. A “natural disaster” refers to widespread damage across a large number of people. Lake Clifton is one of those areas that would be in between. The Western Australia natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements criteria can be difficult to disentangle, but basically a natural disaster requires a level of damage to public infrastructure. It is not about private homes or private loss of property; it relates to public infrastructure, as in the case of, say, Toodyay, where that was very clear, and in the case of Carnarvon, where there was very clear damage to road, bridges and the like. That did not happen in Lake Clifton. There was damage to the power supply system of Western Power; Western Power is a government trading enterprise and it is deemed to be commercial, so its losses are not covered by the criteria for damage to public infrastructure. It sounds a bit contradictory and it is, but that is the criteria. This state government, however, provided immediate cash assistance of $3 000 to those families affected, and other assistance has been provided. So there is an element of unfairness about it, but that is the criteria.
(3) Has the Premier received representations from community representatives concerning the making of such a declaration; and, if so, what action has the Premier taken in response to these representations? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for Girrawheen for the question. It is a good question and an important one. (1)–(3) There is always some sort of inequality, I guess, in declaring or not declaring a natural disaster area. For example, the fires in Toodyay and the floods in Carnarvon clearly met the criteria, as indeed did the recent damage in Warmun. The other extreme is, say a lightning strike hits a house in Perth and it burns down and one person loses everything; is that a natural disaster? According to the criteria, no it is not. A “natural disaster” refers to widespread damage across a large number of people. Lake Clifton is one of those areas that would be in between. The Western Australia natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements criteria can be difficult to disentangle, but basically a natural disaster requires a level of damage to public infrastructure. It is not about private homes or private loss of property; it relates to public infrastructure, as in the case of, say, Toodyay, where that was very clear, and in the case of Carnarvon, where there was very clear damage to road, bridges and the like. That did not happen in Lake Clifton. There was damage to the power supply system of Western Power; Western Power is a government trading enterprise and it is deemed to be commercial, so its losses are not covered by the criteria for damage to public infrastructure. It sounds a bit contradictory and it is, but that is the criteria. This state government, however, provided immediate cash assistance of $3 000 to those families affected, and other assistance has been provided. So there is an element of unfairness about it, but that is the criteria.
Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for Girrawheen for the question. It is a good question and an important one. (1)–(3) There is always some sort of inequality, I guess, in declaring or not declaring a natural disaster area. For example, the fires in Toodyay and the floods in Carnarvon clearly met the criteria, as indeed did the recent damage in Warmun. The other extreme is, say a lightning strike hits a house in Perth and it burns down and one person loses everything; is that a natural disaster? According to the criteria, no it is not. A “natural disaster” refers to widespread damage across a large number of people. Lake Clifton is one of those areas that would be in between. The Western Australia natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements criteria can be difficult to disentangle, but basically a natural disaster requires a level of damage to public infrastructure. It is not about private homes or private loss of property; it relates to public infrastructure, as in the case of, say, Toodyay, where that was very clear, and in the case of Carnarvon, where there was very clear damage to road, bridges and the like. That did not happen in Lake Clifton. There was damage to the power supply system of Western Power; Western Power is a government trading enterprise and it is deemed to be commercial, so its losses are not covered by the criteria for damage to public infrastructure. It sounds a bit contradictory and it is, but that is the criteria. This state government, however, provided immediate cash assistance of $3 000 to those families affected, and other assistance has been provided. So there is an element of unfairness about it, but that is the criteria.
I thank the member for Girrawheen for the question. It is a good question and an important one. (1)–(3) There is always some sort of inequality, I guess, in declaring or not declaring a natural disaster area. For example, the fires in Toodyay and the floods in Carnarvon clearly met the criteria, as indeed did the recent damage in Warmun. The other extreme is, say a lightning strike hits a house in Perth and it burns down and one person loses everything; is that a natural disaster? According to the criteria, no it is not. A “natural disaster” refers to widespread damage across a large number of people. Lake Clifton is one of those areas that would be in between. The Western Australia natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements criteria can be difficult to disentangle, but basically a natural disaster requires a level of damage to public infrastructure. It is not about private homes or private loss of property; it relates to public infrastructure, as in the case of, say, Toodyay, where that was very clear, and in the case of Carnarvon, where there was very clear damage to road, bridges and the like. That did not happen in Lake Clifton. There was damage to the power supply system of Western Power; Western Power is a government trading enterprise and it is deemed to be commercial, so its losses are not covered by the criteria for damage to public infrastructure. It sounds a bit contradictory and it is, but that is the criteria. This state government, however, provided immediate cash assistance of $3 000 to those families affected, and other assistance has been provided. So there is an element of unfairness about it, but that is the criteria.
(1)–(3) There is always some sort of inequality, I guess, in declaring or not declaring a natural disaster area. For example, the fires in Toodyay and the floods in Carnarvon clearly met the criteria, as indeed did the recent damage in Warmun. The other extreme is, say a lightning strike hits a house in Perth and it burns down and one person loses everything; is that a natural disaster? According to the criteria, no it is not. A “natural disaster” refers to widespread damage across a large number of people. Lake Clifton is one of those areas that would be in between. The Western Australia natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements criteria can be difficult to disentangle, but basically a natural disaster requires a level of damage to public infrastructure. It is not about private homes or private loss of property; it relates to public infrastructure, as in the case of, say, Toodyay, where that was very clear, and in the case of Carnarvon, where there was very clear damage to road, bridges and the like. That did not happen in Lake Clifton. There was damage to the power supply system of Western Power; Western Power is a government trading enterprise and it is deemed to be commercial, so its losses are not covered by the criteria for damage to public infrastructure. It sounds a bit contradictory and it is, but that is the criteria. This state government, however, provided immediate cash assistance of $3 000 to those families affected, and other assistance has been provided. So there is an element of unfairness about it, but that is the criteria.
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