Shadow Minister for Emergency Services James Milligan has raised concerns about the territory’s preparedness for the 2023-24 bushfire season and called on the ACT Labor-Greens government to fully commit to reinstating the Namadgi National Park fire trail network.

Mr Milligan slammed the Minister for Emergency Services for overstating the preparedness of the ACT for the upcoming bushfire season, when he knew the fire trails were not up to the standard they were before the 2020 Orroral Fires.

“The Minister stood up in the Assembly in September and reported that Canberra was well prepared for the upcoming fire season, ‘better than ever before’, yet his responses during question time last week were contrary to that,” Mr Milligan said.

“The Minister also admitted that the top end of Namadgi National Park was still not accessible to fire fighters, and that they would not be able to get large flow trucks, that deliver other firefighting equipment, such as bulldozers, up to the Cotter Hut.

“The inability to get to the Cotter Hut impacts on the water resource preparedness, in response to the fires. Especially important when he also admitted that the Corin Dam is also not yet accessible for water supplies.”

Mr Milligan said it was insulting to all Canberrans, for the Minister to assure that Canberra was more prepared than ever before, when he knew that was certainly not the case.

“It seems this government has not learned the lessons of the fires in either 2003 or the more recent ones of 2019-2020.

“I am calling on the Minister to come clean to Canberrans and report back to the Assembly on the final sitting date this year on the true state of all the fire trails and how prepared we really are.

“The 2003 Mcleod Fire Inquiry, after the devastating 2003 fires, made a key recommendation about roading standards and fire trails to ensure that all of Namadgi National Park was fully accessible. It would appear the government has failed the community to ensure this has been done.

“Canberrans love living in a bush capital, but they expect a government to provide a safe environment especially with all Canberrans paying each year for the Police and Emergency Services Levy. It is also incumbent on this government to ensure the devastation of 2003 and 2019-20 does not happen again,” Mr Milligan concluded