SUBJECTS: New heavy lift helicopters; Disaster preparedness; King Charles III Australian Tour.
MATT BURNELL MP, FEDERAL MEMBER FOR SPENCE: Thank you everybody for coming out today. My name is Matt Burnell, I'm the federal member for Spence. First I’d like to start by acknowledging the lands on which we meet today, the lands of the Kaurna people, and pay my respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. Also like to just identify that we are just sitting not far away from very significant vernal pools, which hold significant cultural significance to the Kaurna people. I'd also like to welcome my good friend, Senator the Honorable Jenny McAllister, along with the State Minister Dan Cregan MP, as well as my fellow colleague, Michael Brown, Member for Flory.
Today is a significant day for the people in the Northern Suburbs. We know that fire does not respect lines drawn on a map. Quite often we see in our communities the scars that are left across our landscape, not just our landscape, but also in our hearts when there are loss of lives from these significant events. So today's announcement, by increasing our capacity to respond to these types of incidents up in our hills, is significant contribution from the federal government. It was only in 2015 that the Pinery fires struck a chord through our whole community, leaving scars that are going to take significant time to heal. On that note, I really do want to pay, acknowledge the hard work of my predecessor, Nick Champion for his advocacy whilst he was the respective federal member before I was elected in 2022. That support, along with our community, is helping to deliver these much needed resources here today. What we know is that by reducing the response time, that we reduce the loss of land, we reduce the loss of homes, but ultimately we reduce the loss of lives. And that's what this is really all about, providing much needed services and responses in times of crisis. And on that note, I'd like to hand over to my federal colleague, Senator Jenny McAllister.
SENATOR JENNY McALLISTER, MINISTER FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Thanks very much Matt, and it's a pleasure to be here with you. You're such a terrific advocate for your electorate and also for the community of South Australia. It's lovely to have you as a colleague. I think Australians understand that our climate is changing, and in recent years, we have seen a significant increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, whether that be fire, cyclone, flooding, storm, we get it all. What we know is that Australians expect the Australian Government to be part of our response. States and territories will always have the first lead in responding to a natural disaster in their communities, but we know that Australians want us to be at the table too - want the Australian Government to be in a position to help. It's why since coming to government, we've invested so much time in ensuring that we're in a position to play a coordinating role when a disaster goes beyond state boundaries, that we're working with states and territories and with non-government organisations on preparedness, so we're ready, but also that we have the national capabilities that we require to support states and territories when event, when an event exceeds their capacity. And it's why I'm so pleased to be standing here in Adelaide announcing that one of the three additional heavy lift helicopters that we've procured as part of the national fleet is going to be stationed here in Adelaide for the foreseeable future. This is a fleet that we'll be able to use to support communities here in South Australia. We'll also be able to deploy it to Western Australia, if the risk profile changes, and we'll be able to take it into Western Victoria. It's an important capability, and it adds to the national air tanker that we've been able to fund in previous years. For the first time, we have a national fleet that includes three heavy lift helicopters and a large air tanker. These aircraft will be able to be used in fire, but they'll also be able to be used to support communities in floods and in cyclones. We've got one deployed in Queensland, one in Sydney, and one, of course, here in South Australia. It's an important time, as we head into the high risk weather season, for communities to start thinking about their own preparedness. If you live in an area that's exposed to fire, it's time to start thinking about your plan for your family, to make sure that you're ready and you all understand what you will do. If you live in an area exposed to flood, it's the same thing. Now is the time to start getting ready, because we can't eliminate these risks, but we can prepare for them. That's what our governments are doing, and it's also what we want communities to do as well. Can I ask my colleague Dan Cregan to make a few remarks?
DAN CREGAN MP, MINISTER FOR POLICE, EMERGENCY SERVICES AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES: Thank you, Minister McAllister, we're deeply appreciative of the Commonwealth Government's support, an additional black hawk helicopter. Our own fleet in South Australia numbers over 30 aircraft, we’re determined to ensure that we have the technology, the aircraft available to prepare for what is expected to be a very hot and very dry season. We're seeing vegetation curing early. Of course, we brought forward the fire danger season dates in the south east in particular. I want to emphasise that I was in conversation with a local farmer who had indicated to me that the rainfall records on his own property has been the driest there for 100 years. So we know that, as I say, with the vegetation curing early, we're looking towards a very hot and very dry fire season. And as Minister McAllister has emphasised, now is the time to prepare. We must emphasise to South Australians that we're looking at a very difficult season, and there is an opportunity to prepare early, and we're calling on all South Australians in fire danger areas to do so. Might turn now to our CFS, our representative, Nick, if he would like to make a couple of contributions. We're also joined by our Region Commander from the SES. I might turn to Nick.
NICK STANLEY, SA COUNTRY FIRE SERVICE: Thank you. Nick Stanley I’m the manager for state aviation operations for the Country Fire Service. Having the ability to have a nationally based fleet asset here in South Australia adds another level of resource available to us that we can call upon almost immediately. We have worked in conjunction over many years with South Australian based contractors, AeroTech, and we've developed excellent working relationships and firefighting policies and procedures. So under our terms of our rapid initial attack philosophy, having the ability to call on an additional Black Hawk if we were to have a major incident in the Adelaide Hills, the Mid North or anywhere else in the state, really gives us an additional level of assurance. Having said that, it is a national asset, so it can be moved based on risk profile across the nation, and we're more than cognisant of that. We're more than happy to affect that as well. We don't have in South Australia a large air tanker. We're the only mainland state that doesn't have one. So again, we do pull on the resources of the federal government if we require one for high risk days or periods of time. We call on the national large air tanker to come over and support our operations in South Australia, if it's available. So likewise, we understand that if this has a higher risk need somewhere in the nation, it will go there based on that risk profile.
JOURNALIST: Because is this the only nationally based asset here in South Australia?
STANLEY: Yeah that is correct.
JOURNALIST: And is this the only black hawk that the CFS have access to?
STANLEY: No. So under terms of our contract, we have access to four additional Black Hawk helicopters, two predominantly for the Adelaide Hills, one for the Lower Eyre Peninsula and one for the Lower South East,
JOURNALIST: And they're all based in South Australia.
STANLEY: Yeah, that is correct
JOURNALIST: Whereabouts?
STANLEY: So for the lower South East, it will be based at Mount Gambier airport, along with all our other aerial firefighting resources. At Port Lincoln airport, for the lower air peninsula, and the main base here for the Adelaide Hills, Claremont Air Base will be based along with our Mount Lofty fixed wing bombers and our state response package as well.
JOURNALIST: So what does the fleet for the CFS look like? It's the five Black Hawks. And then what, what else do we have?
STANLEY: So we have 31 aircraft in total. So we have 16 fixed wing bombers, like the one behind us over here, nine rotary wing or helicopter observation platforms, and four Black Hawks as well. And two fixed wing observation platforms. So we have a system where we set up primary response lanes in our state. In those primary response lanes, if there's a report of a rural fire, even a rubbish fire, they're automatically dispatched to that fire so we can contain that fire, take the intensity out, give our ground crews the best possible opportunity to contain that fire so they can go home earlier.
JOURNALIST: How does that fleet compared to other states nationally?
STANLEY: So we have a substantial fleet. Some other states, based on their geographical profile, have larger fleets. So we'd be an average size fleet in comparison to our eastern states.
JOURNALIST: Where is this, just to clarify, where is the Black Hawk that we're announcing today going to be based?
STANLEY: That will be based here in Parafield.
JOURNALIST: And is it quite a significant contribution to have a fifth one?
STANLEY: Yeah, so to have that ability to access it almost immediately based on any operational need, would be beneficial.
JOURNALIST: Can you talk about the new capabilities that it has. What, how does this helicopter compare to the previous ones that we have?
STANLEY: So in the past, we had on contract an Ericsson Aircrane, so it was only a single resource. Value for money, and capability wise, we're able to procure two Black Hawks for the price of an air crane, also the ability to deliver litres of water, they can actually, working in tandem, deliver more than what a Harrison Aircrane could over an hour. So as we see advancements over the years, new technologies coming in, we're always remaining be agile, flexible and adaptable in what we contract for our fleet.
JOURNALIST: And can this helicopter be used for other things as well, like delivering resources and stuff like that?
STANLEY: Yeah. So, so the tank underneath can be removed in a relatively short amount of time, less than an hour. There's a cargo hook there, so then it's able to run a long line cargo net and sling additional equipment in. You can do heavy lift, so if there was power infrastructure that need to be replaced, can lift power poles and things like that as well. So very versatile to have these aircraft in our fleet
JOURNALIST: and that's something the smaller ones can't do?
STANLEY: Our smaller ones can. But these are really good in the ability to lift a lot of cargo at one time and deliver that.
JOURNALIST: And just to quantify the difference between, like a standard one and this one, you say you can take more water. Do we know how much, like the difference?
STANLEY: Yeah so, so the Black Hawks have a capacity of 4500 liters. Whereas some of the smaller observation helicopters can lift 1000 litres with a bucket system.
JOURNALIST: And how much the game changer is that in like a bushfire situation?
STANLEY: Oh look, we've had our Black Hawks on contract for the last three years. We've had several fires in Adelaide Hills, where if we hadn't had the availability of them previously, fires that would have, that we’re able to extinguish within a day would potentially have gone for five or seven days. So if you've got an open water source nearby, the rapid turnaround for the aircraft to access that water source, return to the fire ground and knock that fire down for the ground crews to extinguish has proved invaluable.
JOURNALIST: So this is the fifth one that SA has access to. Do you have, like, a bit of a wish list of how many you would like to have access to?
STANLEY: Yeah, everyone's got a wish list. But really, helicopter operations depends on where the reliable open water sources are. So a lot of people have said, well, how come you don't have one based in the mid north. At this time of the year, depending on seasonal and climatic changes, you might find those water sources drier. Having said that, though there are larger reservoirs through the mid north, if we had a fire in that proximity, we're able to make that call to redeploy our assets. We are very flexible with our fleet. We move the majority of our fleet around just about every day based on the risk profiles that we have. So we may supplement additional aircraft into certain zones, knowing that there's a greater risk here for that day.
JOURNALIST: Nick, what are we expecting from this year's fire season?
STANLEY: Oh, look, we've had that very dry winter. So apart from the area around the Adelaide Hills, where we've got an average soil moisture reading at the moment, our soil dryness is double of what it should be at this point of the year anywhere else in the state. So whilst there may not be a lot of grass on the ground, that grass and crops, they have dried out very rapidly. So we've seen, like the south east, come forward by three weeks for the declaration of their fire season. Those fires will burn quickly, because there's no moisture in the soil to help. If it hits scrub patches, that's where we're going to have issues. When we get into the forested areas, pine fires, scrub, through the Flinders Ranges, any other ranges in South Australia, they will be problematic. They will burn hard, and they'll burn fast. So it's great that we've got this fleet available to us, and the additional asset, if required, to help try and contain those fires quicker.
JOURNALIST: Are there any other special provisions being made, seeing as you know, what sort of elements you could expect, special provisions as in this helicopter, are there any other things you-
STANLEY: Oh look we can go through the National Resource Sharing Center, and we can access additional resources if required, such as the large air tanker that's available to all states this year. So the C130, we have a loading facility that's purpose built to load large air tankers at RAAF Base Edinburgh. We're working well with Defence in that regard. So we can bring that in basically earlier in the morning or overnight days prior to bad fire weather coming in. Or if we have operations where we can use that, we can make that request and bring it across within less than 12 hours.
UNKNOWN: Anything for the ministers?
JOURNALIST: Can I go quickly first? Senator, sorry, can you break down the funding for me? Is this helicopter solely funded by the federal government?
McALLISTER: So the Federal Government has made an additional $17 million a year available this year and next year so that we can increase the national fleet. And that has enabled us to procure not just the large air tanker, but also the additional three heavy lift helicopters. They are also available for a much longer period of time than has previously been the case, and that's really important, because the fire season, the high risk weather season, has been getting longer. We know we need to use these assets for longer, and it's a really important feature of the preparedness work that we're doing. As you've heard, though, it is complementary to the work that is done by the states and territories, and we have worked very, very hard to make sure that we are in a position to coordinate closely with colleagues in the states and territories. They have the initial responsibility. They have the local capability and knowledge. Our role is to supplement and support states and territories when their own capabilities are exceeded.
JOURNALIST: Just a couple of other questions if that’s okay?
McALLISTER: Are we sorted with the emergency management questions? We might allow our- Ben, did you want to make a few remarks and then we might allow our emergency personnel to step out?
BEN VERBIK, SES SA REGIONAL COMANDER: Ben Verbik, I'm the Regional Commander for SES North Region. So today, with the introduction of this national asset, it's not just benefiting fires. For us, it gives us the ability to be able to move large assets, large equipment, to be able to support communities when they've been impacted by floods, they've been isolated, or as we've seen over the last week, across the country, being impacted by infrastructure challenges as well. We saw during the River Murray flood event a few years ago, the utilisation of helicopters to move large sandbag assets into areas that we just couldn't get ground crews into. This platform, having it based locally allows us to do that, but at a much larger scale. So from an SES point of view, we're actually really excited and thankful for the government for introducing this platform to SA.
JOURNALIST: Then is the helicopter- what sort of fleet does the SES usually have access to?
VERBIK: Yeah, so we typically don't have helicopters ourselves. We tie into some of the state government contracts as well as the national arrangements. So again, during the River Murray, we brought in an additional platform through the national arrangements, just to help manage the risk along the river.
JOURNALIST: How crucial is an appliance like this for those natural disasters, not just fires?
VERBIK: Yeah well really, when we're trying to get into, you know, we're talking about floods, we've got large areas that are isolated and we just can't get to by any other means, the ability to be able to fly in resupply to isolated communities, or, as we use the example that sandbags, to help defend communities where we can't get in there by any other means, is a game changer for us.
McALLISTER: Thank you Ben, I think we're going to have some questions on other matters. So if you don’t wish to be here, you are quite welcome to step away.
JOURNALIST: Just on Lidia Thorpe's outburst yesterday. Do you think she should resign following the outburst at Parliament, or was she exercising her right to free speech?
McALLISTER: Well, as elected representatives, we all make our own decisions about how we conduct ourselves and the political approach that we take. In the end, we're accountable for those decisions to the Australian people.
JOURNALIST: Should she resign, given she disrespected the King?
McALLISTER: That's a matter for Senator Thorpe.
JOURNALIST: Do you think it's an appropriate action?
McALLISTER: As I indicated, we all make our own decisions about how we conduct ourselves. My own view is that it is best to be in a courteous dialogue, even with people with whom you substantially disagree. That's my approach. But in the end, we all make our own decisions, and we are accountable in the end to the Australian people.
JOURNALIST: Senator, has she embarrassed the Australian people though, and the Parliament?
McALLISTER: These are really questions for Senator Thorpe.
JOURNALIST: And as far as does her outburst contradict her swearing to the king?
McALLISTER: These, again, are questions that really only Senator Thorpe can answer. Thanks.
JOURNALIST: Just a couple for Minister Cregan, we might need a little bit. All right, just so there's been another break in at a tobacco store at Craigmore this morning. Can I just have a bit of a reaction to this? Are we losing the tobacco wars at this point?
CREGAN: Well, I understand that there have been an additional five arrests and the seizure of property and vehicles, and South Australia Police will be providing a media statement at 2:30 today. So I might, since it's an operational issue, refer you to the Commissioner. I will say, though, that the South Australian government has absolutely no tolerance for the type of unlawful behavior we've seen in our community, and we're introducing the toughest penalties in Australia for the sale of illegal tobacco.
JOURNALIST: Absolutely. And really, it's a war that you're fighting at two fronts, right? There's people who are buying the contraband, and you're trying to tell them, please don't because you're supporting this. And then you're also having all of these arson attacks and break ins that are happening across the state. Is there anything that you can say that reassure the South Australian public that we have this under control?
CREGAN: South Australia Police are fully focused on this issue. Operation Eclipse has additional resources I'm advised, of course, we're also receiving intelligence from Victoria Police. We appreciate that assistance, but the commissioner has said in another forum that there are quote unquote, a ton of resources that are being devoted to this issue. But as I say, the South Australian government will not tolerate the sale of illegal tobacco and Operation Eclipse is fully focused on these issues. I've been advised that there's been an additional five arrests and the seizure of vehicles and property.
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