Abbott commits to bushfire advice

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has committed the coalition to "essentially embracing"
the findings of the royal commission into Victoria's Black Saturday bushfires.
On the election campaign trail on Saturday, Mr Abbott promised $10 million for early
fire detection if the opposition wins government on August 21.
"There are many lessons that need to be learnt," Mr Abbott told reporters in
Kinglake West, a community hit hard by Black Saturday.
"An incoming coalition government would make $10 million available towards a high
technology fire detection system."
Mr Abbott said any purchases made would involve consultation with the Country Fire
Authority and the Victorian government.
"It's important that our communities are much safer in the future than they turned
out to be on that day," he said.
"I'm determined to do whatever I can."
Mr Abbott said if better technology had been used on Black Saturday the outcome
could have been different.
"My understanding is that there were different fires, different fire fronts coming
at these villages from different points and if it had been easier to pinpoint
exactly where the fires were, if we'd been able to get resources to those points
more quickly, perhaps it could've been different," he said.
"I'm not saying that it wouldn't have been a bad day but the fact that some fires
are extraordinarily difficult to fight is no reason for denying ourselves the latest
possible technology and the best possible equipment to do the job."
Mr Abbott is a volunteer with the Davidson CFA fire brigade in NSW.
"Certainly in NSW we do have it seems a better command and control structure and I
am sure that the Victorian government and the Victorian opposition will be looking
at this as they implement the recommendations of the royal commission," he said.
Cameron Caine is the Liberal candidate for the seat of McEwen, which was home to
many of the 173 people who died on Black Saturday.
He said the rebuilding effort was slow.
"Where we are today is where 200 of us sought salvage on the night and the fire came
up over the top," Mr Caine said.
"The look on people's faces on that night - there is a similar look on their faces
still at the moment in the recovery side of things.
"People are thinking that they're cashed up and they're building, well they're not."
A coalition government would also task the attorney general's department, in
consultation with Emergency Management Australia, with the dissemination of
statistical and mapping data to relevant local and state organisations.