FORMER Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Neil Comrie will monitor state government implementation of recommendations of the Bushfires Royal Commission.
Premier John Brumby today said Mr Comrie would be responsible for auditing progress of agencies and departments’ implementation of the interim recommendations.
He would also report back to the Commission for the Government with a delivery report by March 31 next year.
Mr Brumby said the Government supported all 51 recommendations in the royal commission’s interim report and had provided it with a full implementation plan, which sets out the lead agency, associated actions, allocated responsibilities and the processes required to implement those recommendations.
“We set the Royal Commission the widest possible terms of reference, tight deadlines and capacity to inquire into every aspect of the tragic February fires because we wanted to leave no stone unturned in better protecting Victorians in future bushfires,” Mr Brumby said.
“Government departments and agencies are working quickly to implement recommendations of the Royal Commission’s interim report on top of delivering significant new measures and resources for the firefighting effort announced since the Black Saturday fires.
“We have taken the decision to appoint an independent monitor to review and audit progress on the implementation of the Royal Commission’s interim report recommendations during the course of this fire season because we want to take every necessary action to ensure our State is as fire-safe and fire-ready as possible.
“Mr Comrie brings a wealth of experience to this role, having undertaken a number of reviews for the State and Commonwealth governments.”
Mr Brumby said the Government and fire agencies were rolling out unprecedented new fire preparation measures which included:
- A new national fire danger rating system, with a new category for Code Red (Catastrophic) days to warn communities of the risk of fires that are unpredictable, uncontrollable and fast moving;
- Warnings which will be able to be delivered to fixed and mobile phones (based on a billing address) through a new National Emergency Warning System (NEWS);
- A Standard Emergency Warning Signal that will interrupt media broadcasts before potentially life threatening fires;
- New procedures for schools and children’s services on Code Red (catastrophic) days;
- A new ‘10/30 right’ which allows landowners to clear vegetation within 10 metres of a house and ground fuel within 30 metres of their house without a permit;
- Upgrades to 43 Level 3 incident control centres across Victoria with the newest technologies, with 16 to be completed by the end of this month, 21 by the end of this year and a further six to be completed by the middle of next year;
- A new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with about 30 of the state’s commercial radio broadcasters to become official emergency broadcasters which covers stations in Melbourne and regional Victoria as well as an agreement with Sky News television; and
- Significant additional resources for the fire preparation and firefighting effort, including the first-ever dedicated statewide Fire Action Week.
Police and Emergency Services Minister Bob Cameron said the Government was working with all levels of government, communities and individuals to implement recommendations of the Royal Commission’s interim report.
