Ms O’CONNOR question to MINISTER for PARKS and ENVIROMENT, Mr DUIGAN
Minister, you would be well aware of the devastating fires that went through the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area in 2016 and again in 2019. You would also be aware that we have just endured the hottest year on record. Are you able to outline to the Council what steps parks is taking to be prepared for what is likely to be a very hot bushfire season in protected lands?
ANSWER
Mr President, I thank the member for the question. I share those concerns on parks and fire preparedness. Tasmania has a very large area of reserve land and fire presents a substantial risk to those reserve lands and firefighting bushfires is a combined effort from all our state’s fire agencies. Tasmania has the resources required to respond to a typical fire season, along with the systems and escalation arrangements to respond to events that are beyond typical. The Parks and Wildlife Service has a range of skilled and experienced fire management specialists. I would briefly take this opportunity to thank and welcome home the 12 Parks staff who were recently in Canada helping with substantial fire events in that country and are noaw safealy back in the state. That is great.
The Parks specialists include fire management officers, fire operations officers, fire crews, winch-capable crews and incident management teams. In addition to our skill team, Parks utilises new and emerging technologies to be able to detect fires early to allow for rapid response. That is a key and increasingly important tool in the Parks armoury. Fighting a small, emerging fire is possible, while fighting a landscape-scale fire is very difficult.
Parks staff are currently undertaking medical and fitness assessments in preparation for the upcoming fire season. Final fire crew numbers for the upcoming season will be confirmed following completion of the training and assessment sessions. There were 116 personnel last season who were trained to fight fires in remote areas – arduous firefighters; and 27 tanker‑based firefighters – moderate firefighters; 143 firefighting personnel in total across the Parks staff.
In addition, Parks had 61 people trained to undertake roles in incident management teams, including incident controllers, planning officers, logistics officers, public liaison officers and operational officers. If needed, we can call upon additional interstate fire crews through the National Resource Sharing Centre.
During the peak bushfire season, Parks also has a dedicated winch-capable helicopter to pre‑position in areas of greatest risk and respond to bushfires when required. PWS has deployed remote cameras with weather stations to assist with the detection of fires and to monitor existing fires. These cameras are part of a statewide network of cameras deployed by the agencies. The cameras and weather stations allow Parks to check and monitor conditions in remote areas, critically saving time and assisting to manage the risks associated with staff deployment when working in remote and often rugged areas.
Importantly – and somewhat recently – satellite technology also assists with early detection of fires arising from lightning strikes and other sources. These satellites provide information on ignition location and fire intensity, and are an increasingly important tool in allowing Parks to detect fires early and triage the most important fires to deploy those resources to.
Planning. specialists can rapidly determine the likelihood of each fire growing and moving based on vegetation, flammability, mapping and weather conditions at the time, allowing Parks to prioritise response. Public and staff safety are obviously a priority, and PWS closes parks and reserves when safety issues are identified. Campfire restrictions were introduced in a number of parks and reserves across the north of the state and down the east coast. These measures also help to protect Tasmania’s significant reserves and add to the aspect of community safety.
