The terms of reference for a national Royal Commission into Australia’s summer of bushfires have been released following feedback from States and Territories.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Terms of Reference for the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements had been drafted in collaboration with the nation’s Premiers and Chief Ministers.
“We have listened, valued their input and made changes to take on board feedback where appropriate,” Mr Morrison said.
He said the Royal Commission would not review but not duplicate the work of other bushfire inquiries.
“The national response to these devastating Black Summer bushfires is a shared responsibility of the Commonwealth, States and Territories,” Mr Morrison said.
“We all have one goal – to protect people, property and wildlife.”
He said the inquiry would examine three key areas for improvement across all levels of Government: natural disaster management coordination; preparedness, resilience, and response to natural disasters; and the legal framework for the Commonwealth’s involvement in responding to national emergencies and how that works with State and Territory frameworks.
Mr Morrison said the scale of the recent bushfires presented new challenges for all levels of Government.
“We need to consider the need to establish new powers for the Federal Government to declare a national state of emergency to trigger direct Federal Government responses to national disasters, including the direct deployment of the Australian Defence Force,” the Prime Minister said.
He said that currently there were no such powers and Federal responses were only be undertaken in response to State requests and authorisations.
Mr Morrison said the Royal Commission would be led by Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin (Retd), who would be joined by former Federal Court Judge, Annabelle Bennett and Professor Andrew Macintosh, a specialist in climate risk and impact management.
“I want the Royal Commission to begin as soon as possible with the final report due back by August 31, so recommendations can be acted upon before our next bushfire season,” he said.
The approved Terms of Reference can be accessed at this PS News link.
