Some bushfire changes delayed: Vic govt

A swag of recommendations from the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission won't be
implemented in time for the new fire season.

The government warns the new season could be more devastating than the previous
season when the Black Saturday disaster occurred.
The bushfire season begins in about three weeks. By then, Victorians should be able
to access a one-stop website for bushfire information and community warning sirens
will be in place.
But Acting Premier Rob Hulls said the government won't have implemented 11 of the
commission's 51 interim recommendations by the start of the bushfire season.
"This fire season will be every bit as dangerous as last season, if not more so," Mr
Hulls told reporters on Monday.
The state government, which handed its implementation plan to the commission on
Monday, has yet to reach a deal with commercial radio stations to disseminate
bushfire information as the ABC does.
Emergency Services Minister Bob Cameron said the government has faced some
resistance from commercial radio because of the air time commitment involved.
"I'm hopeful that we can enter into an arrangement during the course of the
remainder of the year," Mr Cameron said on Monday.
Under the national telephone warning system, which Telstra will run, alerts will be
sent to landlines and mobile phones according to their billing addresses. But the
second phase, in which messages could be sent to mobiles at their location, won't be
considered until early next year.
Upgrades to the bushfire information line to enable it to deal with a surge in calls
during extreme events is expected to be completed by November 1.
New equipment has to be purchased, computers upgraded and extra call centre staff
recruited.
Existing locations to be used as fire refuges, such as car parks and sporting
grounds, will be allocated to each of the state's 52 bushfire hotspots.
But some communities will have a designated place in their region, rather than in
their town.
The designated places, which Mr Hulls stressed should only be used as a last resort
and would not guarantee safety, are scheduled to be identified by the Country Fire
Authority (CFA) and local councils before the end of November.
Government lawyer Allan Myers QC told the commission there will be no new refuges
constructed until the 2010-11 fire season.
He said individuals, not CFA members, would be responsible for assessing the
defendability of their properties using information available online and on a CD.
The commission had recommended that the CFA consider training members to help the
public assess the defendability of their homes.
But Mr Myers said it was not practical for CFA volunteers to go to every household
in Victoria to make an assessment.
CFA head Russell Rees, who has been criticised over the way he handled the Black
Saturday bushfires that killed 173 people earlier this year, will oversee emergency
services' response if bushfires are burning state-wide.
When challenged on why the Labor state government failed to implement some of the
measures recommended by previous bushfire royal commissions, Mr Hulls said the
government had made it clear it would implement all the recommendations from the
present commission.
"We will be judged by the royal commission in relation to the progress of the
implementation of those recommendations," he said.
The opposition wants an independent ombudsman to ensure the recommendations are
implemented.
Mr Hulls said the commission would review the government's progress in implementing
its recommendations in March.
The commission will hand down its final report by July 31 next year.