The Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) has welcomed last week’s announcement that the State’s bushfire service would be overhauled, but says further consultation with communities is vital.
It was announced last Thursday that the WA Government would implement all recommendations from an independent report conducted in response to the devastating Waroona bushfires earlier this year.
As per one of the Ferguson Report’s recommendations, a rural volunteer fire service will be created for the State.
WALGA President Lynne Craigie said the local government sector is supportive of the announcements, but the Association wants to ensure close consultation with local government continues.
“We support the intent of these recommendations, but the first hurdle will be to recognise that current structures and processes will not be able to achieve them,” Cr Craigie said.
“Our submission to the Inquiry highlighted that knowledge and existing strengths of local resources could be better utilised, and we were pleased to see that reflected in the recommendations, and now also the State Government’s response.
“But a business as usual approach will not deliver the outcomes that have been endorsed.”
Cr Craigie said WALGA had been working with a number of State Government agencies and would seek to further those discussions throughout implementation processes.
“For example, the establishment of a rural fire service, either as a stand-alone department or subset of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services will require extensive consultation in order to get it right,” Cr Craigie said.
“The value of local knowledge and the volunteer workforce not only plays an important role in response activity to individual events, it can make a big difference to the success of this planning stage as well.”
Cr Craigie said local governments would also benefit from an independent review of funding under the Emergency Services Levy.
The Association supports expanding the scope of the Levy beyond the bushfire response phase to also include mitigation costs.
“WALGA has been advocating for a review of the ESL for many years as fighting bushfires is about more than just responding to the event itself,” Cr Craigie said.
“Planning for hazards, mitigating against them and supporting local communities in their recovery after emergency events is also a big part of the picture and should be included both in the planning approach and funding considerations.”
