BUSHFIRE SUPPRESSION — WATER-BOMBING
274. Hon RICK MAZZA to the Minister for Environment:
I refer to the minister's response to my question
without notice 56 on 15 March 2018, which stated that although no analysis of
the cost-effectiveness of water-bombing is made for individual bushfires —
At the end of a bushfire season,
overall operations are reviewed as good practice to ensure they are safe and
efficient.
(1) Will the
review examine and compare the cost-effectiveness of water-bombers used in
different categories of fire, namely —
(a) small fires burning under mild
conditions; and
(b) large, high intensity fires?
(2) If no to (1), why not?
(3) Are cost-efficiency targets set for the use of
water-bombers during a bushfire season; and, if so, what are they?
(4) If no to (3), why not?
(5) When is the review likely to be completed?
(6) Will the review be made public?
(7) If yes to (6), will the minister undertake to provide me
with a copy?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON
replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of this
question.
(1)–(2)
As referenced in my response to question without notice 56 on 15 March 2018,
the review is of overall operations only, and is not conducted at a finer
scale. The cost-effectiveness of water-bombers has been studied and reported on
by the CSIRO in a report titled ''The effect of aerial suppression on
the containment time of Australian wildfires estimated by fire management
personnel'', which I will table.
(3)–(4)
There are too many variables, including fire
locations, vegetation and fuels, water availability, and season and contract
length, involved in bushfire suppression for such targets to be meaningful.
Aircraft are dispatched according to pre-established risk criteria and their
effectiveness is then constantly monitored by ground and aerial operations
staff in real time. It is standard practice for the air attack supervisors to
provide feedback to the ground regarding effectiveness of aerial operations as
outlined in section 8.10 of the ''Aerial Fire Suppression Operating
Procedures'', which I will table. Effectiveness is also reported on by
the AAS post-incident as part of the flight log that covers a range of operational
matters, and I will table this.
(5) It is
expected that the review will be completed by the end of this financial year.
(6)–(7)
It would not be appropriate to release the
review publicly as it will contain commercially sensitive information related
to contractors. However, the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and
Attractions is willing to provide a briefing for the member on its
operations and the review process.
[See paper
1285.]