SUBJECT/S: Victorian Bushfires, State and Federal Government Support Programs for Fire Affected Victorian Communities.
PREMIER OF VICTORIA, JACINTA ALLAN: Well, good afternoon and can I thank you all for being here in Castlemaine and for spending some time listening, as we have all done, to residents and members of the Harcourt community and the broader district too, who were so badly impacted by the fires that came through this district on Friday. Just in terms of the order of proceedings for today, I'm joined by strong, proud local members of Parliament, Lisa Chesters and Maree Edwards. And after I've made some initial comments about Harcourt, I'll ask Maree and Lisa to add to those comments. They've been on the ground since Saturday and they've got some really strong connections and observations to make about what they've seen here in the local community. I'd also like to acknowledge our Ministerial colleagues, Federal Minister Kristy McBain and Minister Vicky Ward. And the Federal Minister and I will be making shortly some announcements of further support. And Kristy, thank you for being also on the ground here for a number of days here supporting our Victorian communities. I'd also like to acknowledge the Mayor of the Mount Alexander Shire, Toby Heydon, who's with us as well. And as you can see, the way the community and the council have swung into action is just remarkable. And I thank Toby and his team for that work. And then we have the Emergency Management Commissioner, Tim Wiebusch, and Chief Officer of the CFA, Jason Heffernan, who will, following the announcements from the Minister and I, will provide details of the ongoing fire, emergency and fire situation that's being experienced in other parts of Victoria.
As I said, we've all just spent quite a bit of time in both Harcourt and also in the relief centre here at Castlemaine, listening, listening to members of the local community meeting many, far too many people who lost their homes in the fires that came through on Friday evening into Saturday, and then also hearing the stories of how many more could have been lost. And it was because of the work of our emergency services. And time and again, I've been told just how incredible, incredible the response from the CFA and our emergency services was on Friday into Saturday that saved so many homes, saved so many lives. And the community, I know, Jason, are incredibly grateful for the work that has been going on here in Harcourt over the last few days. But we have seen a lot of devastation and we have seen a lot of loss here in Harcourt. And as I've said previously, it's tough to visit any fire affected community and sit and listen to members of the community and hear their stories of heartbreak and the difficult experiences they had. But for a community like Harcourt, that's really close to home, and where my kids went to kinder here, and I've got lots of close friends in the local community, it brings it even closer to home. But it also too, it's really again an important reminder of two things - make sure we take the advice of the emergency services, take the advice, leave when we're told to, because we know it saves lives and supports their work. But also too, what we've also seen over the course of today is the best of Victoria, the best of regional communities, the best of people coming together and providing support to one another. Whether it's the temporary drop in centre that's been established at the miniature railway, the work of local community clubs like the football netball club, the Rotary Club, the Progress Association, who have just swung into action and a number of them have lost their homes, have lost their businesses and are impacted, their first thought is the care of others, the support for others and the support for this strong, proud community of Harcourt. And so it's so important that we continue to stand with Harcourt and other fire affected communities and support them on the long recovery journey ahead.
In one bit of positive news, it's great to see the Bendigo Line up and running again, to see train services restored and I want to take this opportunity to thank the V/Line crews who were, we saw them here at work on Sunday. They went to work straight away as soon as it was safe to do so, to get that line up and running. So, I want to thank them enormously for the work that they have done. I'll now ask both Lisa and Maree to make a couple of other observations and comments on behalf of the community of Harcourt.
VICTORIAN MEMBER FOR BENDIGO WEST, MAREE EDWARDS: Thank you, Premier. For those that I haven't met before, I'm Maree Edwards, I'm the local Member for Bendigo West and also the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. Can I thank the Premier for coming today to meet with our Harcourt residents, bearing in mind that it's not just Harcourt that was impacted by this fire, although many homes were lost in Harcourt, we also had the communities of Walmer and Barker's Creek who were impacted as well. I also want to give a big shout out to our local brigades who did an enormous amount of work on Friday evening and into Saturday to secure and make sure that people were safe. The other shout out I want to give is to the community themselves. The fact that almost 95 per cent of the Harcourt community evacuated before this fire meant that we saved many, many lives. Those that did stay were able to save their homes. But importantly, people heeded the messages about a catastrophic fire danger on Friday and they left. And that, I think, has saved many, many lives.
Can I also say that after being in Harcourt this morning and meeting with many friends and many community members that I know very, very well, that the stories that we have heard today have been just heartbreaking, but they have also been inspiring. I don't think that I know any other community where people have banded together so well to support each other. And even here at the recovery centre, talking to people over the last two, three days has been a remarkable experience in understanding just how connected our small communities in regional Victoria are. We also want to give a big shout out to the Mount Alexander Shire for organising what has become a bit of a hub here at the recovery centre, at the town hall. It really is great to see all the services here supporting everyone who's been impacted and the work that is being done by the Shire staff, by the mayor and the CEO as well. Thank you so much. Look, we have a long way to go. There's a lot of recovery required, there's a lot of grief in our community. But we will all band together and we will continue on and we will rebuild. Harcourt is a very, very special part of Central Victoria. It's renowned for its beautiful apples, it's renowned for its wineries and cideries, but we know that the damage is significant. But I also know that as a community, we'll band together, we will support them and we will rebuild. Thank you.
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR BENDIGO, LISA CHESTERS: Thank you very much, Maree. I'm Lisa Chesters. I'm the Federal Member for Bendigo and Harcourt is part of my electorate. It's hard to stand here on days like today and talk as the Federal representative, as Maree and Jacinta have touched on, so much of being here today isn't just about the professional work that you do. Harcourt is a big part of our lives. Personally, I was here a week ago with my children in the playground playing. To see it today, it's one of the assets, the community assets that was saved by the CFA. Being out on the ground and talking to people and hearing the stories firsthand. Yeah, people did evacuate. They evacuated on the first warning. They got out. That saved lives. Some of the ones that did stay, they stayed until the trucks rolled in and then they left. And they can all tell you the name on the truck. The Redesdale truck that rocked up to save the kinder, The Golden Square truck that rocked up to save a farmer's home. They've all got those stories. To be able to reconnect with local icons like Michael from Henry of Harcourt, lost much of the orchard that we all know so well, lost his home. But he's there today helping people, food, connecting. Remy, who lost their business at the Cool Stores that a lot of people talk about, the wonderful cafe relocated from Woodend to be here in Harcourt. They're focused right now on the immediate, helping their neighbours, helping their community. They do want to rebuild, but they're also asking the rest of us to give them some space. There'll be an opportunity for people to revisit Harcourt, to help the community in their recovery. They're just not ready yet. They need to come together, rebuild, start to focus on the next stage of their recovery. But there will be an opportunity. It's Harcourt, just not right now.
PREMIER ALLAN: Thanks, Lisa. Thank you, Lisa and Maree. And as I said earlier, and whether it was yesterday in Alexandra, Monday in Natimuk, here on the weekend and in Seymour as well, a big part of the focus for me and my government and also for the Federal Government right now is being in these communities, listening to what they need and responding as quickly as we possibly can with the support that's needed now in the face of the emergency, and also looking to that recovery journey ahead. And that's why today's, we've got some announcements to make today. There's a bit of detail in these announcements that I'm about to step through, because this is about looking at the important support that is needed, as I said, both now and for that long recovery ahead. And the support does build on that emergency, immediate relief that has been previously announced, the Personal Hardship Grants, and I'm told there's more than 1,200 of those grants have already been processed, providing that immediate assistance. The fodder, the announcement of fodder that the Prime Minister and I made on the weekend, and emergency accommodation. This announcement today is building on that previous support and, as I said, is particularly focused on the recovery and the rebuild.
And the first of those announcements does go to that point. The establishment of recovery hubs and community recovery offices that will be there every step of the way on the recovery journey, with households, families, businesses and communities. And as you can see from the relief centre, this coordinated approach, where we are guided by what the community needs and then respond, is a really important way. We don't want households who have been affected by fire, whether you've been directly affected and lost your home, you might have lost some property or you are part of a community that's doing it tough, we want to make sure you can tap into that support directly as being tailored to your needs.
The second part of the support that's being provided is recognising that for some communities, whilst a huge, a huge amount of work has gone on to restore power to power. When the power went out, I think at its peak on Friday, there was something like around 100,000 homes were without power, and power has been quickly restored, so that number is just down to a few thousand. For some, they've been off for a long time. So, for those households who have been without power for seven days or more, they will be able to access the Priority Power Outage Program, which provides for $2,380 per week for up to three weeks. We are working around the clock and the Commissioners made this point about the work, coordinated work that's being done to get the roads reopened, make sure that there's no risk of damage from trees falling, to get the power on. We're working around the clock and these payments are a recognition that there are some households that remain without power and may do so for some time yet.
The next part of the announcement of support is very much focused on primary producers. The fires have really badly affected some of our great prime agricultural land, whether it's over in Longwood and that Longwood fire in Natimuk and here in Harcourt, where it's so well known for its apple growing, but it's also, it's got a bit of sheep growing as well. This is prime agricultural land and our primary producers have been badly affected, which is why we are also providing funding for an initial, and I again emphasise, the initial allocation of $40 million, means that if we need to provide more funding, we will, for Primary Producer Recovery Grants. And these are grants for up to $75,000 for eligible primary producers. And it's to help them with their clean up. It's also helped them with if they've had stock that needs to be disposed of. Like, these are tough things that our primary producers have to work through in the aftermath of a fire. And these payments for that recovery activity. Also, too, as part of that rebuild, the next part of the package is about providing concessional loans of up to $250,000 for primary producers. Again, recognising that there's a lot of asset here that's been damaged and there's that longer term support, these concessional loans are about providing that longer term support.
We've seen a tremendous partnership kick into gear with federal, state and local councils and I want to acknowledge the huge role that Mount Alexander Shire has played here in this community. But we're seeing it in communities right across the state, the incredible work that councils have done. And so that's why we are, as part of this package, providing for the Council Support Fund, which will help those councils to again also look at the identification of community assets and that's been lost and start also to that vital recovery process.
Financial counselling is also part of this package of support that's being provided. Financial counselling is going to be important for a number of households and primary producers and for communities to tap into. And if I can use this opportunity, when I'm talking about counselling, to reiterate that from the beginning, our response to this emergency has included additional mental health support. And again, speaking to people in Harcourt just now, and speaking to people in the recovery centre as well, and as I've been doing now for a number of days, it's whether you are grieving for people who've lost their homes, if you haven't lost your home, you are grieving for what's happened in your community. So, please do reach out and access those mental health supports. And I've been really pleased to see people talk openly about accessing these supports in the recovery centres across whether it's here and in other parts of the state that I've been visiting.
This package of support, and again, I want to thank the Federal Government, this is around $100 million of support that we're providing from today and it builds on that previous support that has been announced. And the best way, if I can reiterate, the best way for affected communities to reach out, and because we've announced, there's a lot, there's a lot of different programs here, the point of the recovery hubs, the point of the recovery hotline, is so you can come to one place and get the information you need based on your local circumstances. So, if I can use the opportunity to repeat the 1800 number - the 1800 560 760, that is the number for fire affected communities to call and I do encourage people to call that.
And then finally, if I can also make one final appeal and that is for donations to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund. It's been established and donations are coming in and I thank Australians for providing their support. From what we've seen here today, that great Australian spirit has swung into action most firmly, fiercely and quickly in response to the fire that has come through communities here in Victoria. And I thank people for their support. If you want to provide support to these communities and have any means to do so, please do so through the Bushfire Appeal Fund. If you type into your internet 2026 Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund, you'll be able to go straight to the donation page. So, please do. Donations big and small will be so gratefully received by local communities and every dollar will go to local communities as well.
I'll hand over shortly to the Federal Minister to go to a little bit more detail, because I know the Federal Minister has some additional announcements to make about providing some support for fire affected communities. And I thank you for that. And then we'll hand over to the Commissioner and the Chief Officer for their reports on the situation here in Victoria, because the fires do continue to pose threats and we've got so many personnel out in the ground responding to those fire emergencies that are there in different parts of the state. But I'll just finish by saying - we know fires can be fierce and deadly, and we have seen here in Harcourt and in places across Victoria how fires have devastated communities. We've lost homes and businesses and prime agricultural land. And my message very clearly to those communities is my government will continue to stand with you on the long recovery journey ahead, today and every day forward. And there is the supports there. And please, we'll continue to be on the ground to listen to you, to hear what you need and continue to provide support to you every step of the way. I'll now hand over to the Minister.
MINISTER FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, KRISTY MCBAIN: Thank you, Premier. It's an honour to be here again in this community and in Harcourt earlier today to hear directly from affected community members. There is no better way than the state and federal governments to work together to provide support than to hear directly from local communities about what they're going to need, both now, but also into the future. Can I start by acknowledging the emergency services personnel. The work that they are doing is extraordinary and everyone we've heard from today have expressed gratitude to those emergency service workers here and across the state who are doing an extraordinary job. We've had, obviously, assistance from New South Wales and South Australia, and that will continue. And we want to say a big thank you to all of you. You do an extraordinary job. It was fantastic hearing directly from Harcourt CFA today about the work that they're doing, but the impact that they have in their local community. So, on behalf of all Australians, thank you for your work. We also wanted to express our sincere condolences to the man and his family who was lost in the Longwood fire. A real tragedy that will have, obviously, reverberations around that community. So, our condolences.
The Premier has announced another package of support. And one thing that the Albanese and the Allan Government will continue to do is to act quickly to support local communities where they are going to need it most. So, today there is now $128 million worth of support through our joint Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements between the Albanese and the Allan Governments for a range of things across local communities that have been impacted. But today I want to announce an assistance package for sole traders and for individuals who have or will lose income because of this disaster. Our Disaster Recovery Allowance is a payment of up to 13 weeks of income support, which will be available to, as I said, individuals or sole traders who have lost income because of this event. That is a payment that will be made through Services Australia. And you can go onto the Services Australia website to understand eligibility there. It's available to impacted people across 18 local government areas in Victoria, and obviously one resort alpine region as well. But again, we want to reiterate that this support is immediate, it is necessary and it will be ongoing. We know recovery will take time and the Albanese and the Allan Governments will stand with local communities to understand what those impacts are going to be long term.
Can I finally give a shout out to local councils right across the state of Victoria who are doing an extraordinary job right now, coordinating resources in their region, setting up relief centres, understanding who is impacted. They've had, obviously, staff members out on roadblocks, staff members who will be assisting in recovery centres. So, a big thank you to the local government sector for the work they're doing, not only in their local communities, but with state and federal governments to understand what that need will be ongoing. And can I also acknowledge the media. You do a fantastic work getting the message out to the country and I acknowledge the national media that's here today. But a big thank you to local media who are a trusted source of information in local communities. So, to the local paper and to the local radio stations here, thank you for the work that you're doing. It is tough when it is your local community that's impacted. And we acknowledge the work that you're doing is also incredibly difficult. So, to local councils and local media, a big shout out. Thank you.
