BUSH FIRES IN AUSTRALIA
( WILDFIRES )
It is now December , 2006 and the bushfire season has started some 4 - 6 weeks early . According to media reports most of the non desert areas of the country are ready to ignite . This is due in a large part to the " thousand year " drought , due largely to changed weather patterns ( even if the Australian Prime Minister does not agree because George W. Bush will not agree that this Climate Change phenomena exists ) .
Mother Nature tends to sweep these King Canute fools quickly away .
Bushfires have been a part of the Australian environment since before settlement ( Aboriginal , not white ) , yet over 50,000 years of experience has been mostly disregarded .
( From : canberrafires.xsnet.org
)
If ever a Government had a wake up call , it was the Australian Government on 18 January , 2003 , after all the national capital is Canberra . We are not going to go through all of the failures of the occupiers of properties through the various levels of government etc. up to the Federal Government , there was a half hearted inquiry that did that .
The lesson of Canberra is that BUSHFIRE IS A NATIONAL PROBLEM . Ultimately , the Federal Government is responsible and cost should be a secondary issue to effectiveness .
As we see it these areas , amongst others , need to be investigated . These suggestions may have practical difficulties , but if this government lacks the vision to ask these questions , it is time for the government to be changed .
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Create uniform legislation , command structures , operating procedures , standards , equipment ( particularly communications equipment ) , etc. between the States and Territories .
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Create a federally funded cadre of full time trainers , controllers , investigators , researchers and administrators . These could be sent to the northern hemisphere for employment and training in the " off season " .
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Create prepositioned pools of heavy and other equipment which may be rapidly deployed by air , rail or road . This would involve having heavy lift aircraft available at short notice ( at federally funded cost ) and provide a capability to quickly deploy helicopters etc. . ( It is not generally known that during the Christmas Sydney fires , several large helicopters were sitting on the ground in New Guinea during their end of year break . )
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Create a system for the rapid deployment of personnel from one area ( or State ) to another , based on operational requirement .
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Facilitate a closer relationship with the Department of Defence for the employment of personnel ( especially from the Reserves ) facilities and equipment as a last resort . Physical support would be of a short duration and separately funded through a provision in the Defence allocation .
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Create a regime for suitable privately owned assets to be used in fire fighting , an example would be trucks being fitted ( at government expense ) with mounting points for standardised pumps and tanks . Needless to say , the conditions of this use would be agreed to beforehand .
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And lastly , create a national control structure to advise governments at all levels , provide training , fund research and allocate federal resources .
While we at it , there is no reason why a similar philosophy could not be applied to other emergency services in this country .
AUSTRALIAN BUSHFIRE PHOTOGRAPHS
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