Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements

The Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements was established on 20 February 2020 in response to the extreme bushfire season of 2019-20 which resulted in loss of life, property and wildlife and environmental destruction.

Referred to as the ‘Bushfires Royal Commission’, the Commission will examine coordination, preparedness for, response to and recovery from disasters as well as improving resilience and adapting to changing climatic conditions and mitigating the impact of natural disasters. The inquiry will also consider the legal framework for Commonwealth involvement in responding to national emergencies.

The Commission is now accepting public submissions on the 2019-20 bushfire season from individuals, community groups and the broader community.

Submissions will close on Friday, 3 April 2020.

Exclusive: Abbott opens up to Sky News about catastrophic bushfire season

EXCLUSIVE: Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his firefighting brigade colleagues have spoken to Sky News host Peta Credlin of the “immense” challenges they have faced during this season’s devastating bushfire season.

Serving as a volunteer for the NSW Rural Fire Service for 20 years, Mr Abbott and his fellow firefighters have opened up about the enormous toll the fire season has taken and how communities have rallied together to support each other during the last few catastrophic months.

A Compassionate and Supportive Cabinet?

As reported by Alexandra Smith (SMH) on the 31st March 2019, Premier Gladys Berejiklian says her government will be compassionate and supportive as she unveiled her new cabinet on Sunday, which will have have a strong emphasis on social change.
How is it possible for Mr Elliot to show compassion and support based upon his track record with the VFFA Volunteer Firefighters.
Why not give the role to Melinda Pavey?
Melinda showed a great deal of compassion and support when she was serving the people of NSW as the Shadow Minister for Emergency Services. It would seem as though she has been handed a poison chalice in the form of water.

Emergency Service Ministers – Very Disappointing

Emergency services have had a bad run with a lineup of Emergency Service Ministers that have failed miserably.
The following SES Commissioner resignations are a poor reflection upon our governments administration of emergency service agencies.
Emergency service workers are waiting to see who will become the next Emergency Services Minister.

Upside Down Country

I’ve heard Indigenous Australians talk about upside down country, with loads of foliage on the forest floor and not enough in the crown.

The VFFA has been accused of being too political, but it may just take some political clout to get the job done.

Liberals promise new national park for NSW to help save koalas

Let’s have a think about this for a while:

Point 1. They ripped the guts out of our National Parks in a restructure. Towns like Bombala lost jobs as a result and we all lost good people who helped manage our National Parks.

Point 2. If we continue to buy up land for National Parks, we need to ensure that we have the resources to manage such land. Recurring budget is required.

Point 3. The firefighter in me suggests that they will allow the fuel to build without appropriate fuel management. If or when fire impacts upon that area, the koalas will be injured or killed in the process.

A typical example is what happened at Tathra.

Point 4. We are under resourced and we don’t manage our Parks very well. We don’t seem to understand the concept of COOL burning and Indigenous land management. We often acknowledge Indigenous culture at meetings and events, but words are cheap…

Perhaps we should consider handing some of our National Parks back to Indigenous control.

Fire and Emergency Services Levy – Government Response

The Government’s response to the Fire and Emergency Services Levy report of the NSW Legislative Council (Portfolio Committee No. 4 – Legal Affairs) was tabled with the Clerk of the Legislative Council on the 30th of November 2018.

The Government’s response to the report was received by the committee on the 18 January 2019.

Politics and Firefighting

I started as a mechanic, then turned to a firefighting career with NSW Fire Brigades (now Fire + Rescue NSW), switched to a full-time position with the Rural Fire Service and I now operate my own successful business.

This video focuses upon my interest in improving our land management.

The major parties don’t have a great track record in this area.