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Australia fires live: South Australia, NSW and Victoria brace for return of bushfires danger – latest updates Australia fires live: South Australia, NSW and Victoria brace for return of bushfires danger – latest updates
(32 minutes later)
Temperatures and winds set to rise as weather conditions worsen, bringing severe bushfire risk. Follow the latest news and live updatesTemperatures and winds set to rise as weather conditions worsen, bringing severe bushfire risk. Follow the latest news and live updates
The government is also providing $60m to councils most affected by the bushfires - at least $1m will go to all 42 disaster declared local government areas, with the remaining $18m to be distributed to the worst impacted. This emergency warning is being issued for Carboor, Carboor East, Carboor Upper, Cheshunt, Cheshunt South, Claremont, Dandongadale, Edi, Edi Upper, Hyem, Jarrott, King Valley, Markous, Myrrhee, Pieper, Rose River, Whitfield, Whitlands, Whorouly South.
Fires are closing in on communities in Kangaroo Island – there are some who are refusing to leave in a bid to keep doing their work protecting wildlife: There is a bushfire at 8km east-south-east of Abbeyard that is out of control.
Scott Morrison moves on to the bushfire update: The bushfire has crossed the Mount Emu track and is moving in a north-westerly direction.
Scott Morrison starts his press conference with an update on Australia’s position on Iraq and Iran: Leaving now is the safest option, before conditions become too dangerous. Emergency services may not be able to help you if you decide to stay.
The greatest of all footballs teams ever (Collingwood forever, don’t @ me) has made its own donation announcement. What you should do:
The club also purchased the 2010 premiership medal Dayne Beams put up for auction, for $27,500, to keep it close to home. Leave from Carboor using the Carboor-Everton Road through Bobinawarrah.
David Littleproud spoke to PBS (the US public broadcaster) about the bushfires. He was asked whether Australia had prepared for this season, given the warnings of the impact of climate change: Whorouly residents should leave via the Snow Road to Wangaratta.
William Brangham: King Valley residents should leave via the Wangaratta-Whitfield Road.
Littleproud: Travel to the home of family or friends that is away from the warning area.
Victoria police have emailed media outlets over the numbers being used in ‘arson’ reports. When you leave remember to take your pets, mobile phone and medications.
This email is to clarify some reporting that has been made in relation to bushfire arson related offences and charges in Victoria. Scott Morrison finishes his press conference, with this:
While we appreciate media are seeking up to date and current statistics about these offences, it is worth noting that: The head of the national bushfire response agency, Andrew Colvin, echoed those sentiments:
Official crime statistics in Victoria are released every quarter by the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA). On the fundraising efforts – which have raised millions and millions of dollars – Scott Morrison says there is a need for fundraisers to work with governments to best direct the funds:
Currently, data up until the year ending September 2019 only is available. Scott Morrison says the government has made some decisions on mental health funding (Labor has been calling for the Medicare 10-visit plan to be made unlimited as the fire crisis continues) but he is not ready to make announcements on that as yet.
Data for the year ending December 2019 will be released in March. It will be made “in the coming days”.
We’d also like to clarify some figures that have been quoted by various media outlets. This includes: Councils will not have to tell the government what they plan on spending the money on – like they did in the north Queensland flood response – and instead can spend the funds on whatever immediate needs they see fit.
183 people have had legal action taken against them this bushfire season in regards to fire-related offences – this relates to NSW, not Victoria. Scott Morrison has taken a moment to thank some of the international allies who have stepped up to help Australia during the bushfire emergency – and singled out our Pacific neighbours for their immediate offers of help:
43 people were charged in 2019 for causing bushfires – this is accurate, and relates to offences in Victoria in the 12 month period ending September 2019. [continued from previous post]
If you have any questions about crime statistics, please contact the CSA: https://www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au/ Yesterday Moody’s analysts said the fires increased the chance the Reserve Bank will cut official interest rates, which are already at a historic low of 0.75%, to 0.5%, but Plank said his team was already predicting the move and the blazes did not alter their forecast.
Scott Morrison will hold a press conference at 1.30 in Canberra. Plank’s research found that major natural disasters have not in the past done much damage to Australia’s economy on a national level, even though regional areas have seen their local industries devastated.
Roughly 100 Papua New Guinean defence force personnel will travel to Australia to join the bushfire response and recovery effort after Scott Morrison accepted an offer of assistance from PNG’s prime minister, James Marape. “Due to the magnitude of the area impacted, the current bushfires will almost certainly have a larger economic impact than previous fires,” he said.
Over the weekend, Marape issued a statement saying 1,000 soldiers and firefighters from his country were standing by, ready to be deployed if requested by Morrison, with whom Marape said he had been in “constant contact over the last few weeks”. “The recurrence of catastrophic conditions, the distribution of the smoke haze, the earlier start of the bushfire season and the coincident peak holiday period mean that a historical comparison can only be viewed as the starting point.”
“Australia is the closest friend of PNG and is always the first in PNG in our times of adversities and we offer our hearts and our hands to you in this time of fire-induced tragedies,” said Marape. He said the $2bn pledged by Morrison would not by itself be enough to stop the federal government achieving the cash budget surplus it has pledged to deliver in the 2019-20 fiscal year.
Marape’s offer was one of several from Australia’s Pacific neighbours, despite Pacific and Australian leaders frequently clashing over Australia’s climate policy. “But bushfire recovery could provide the Morrison government with the political cover it needs to be more equivocal about the 2019-20 surplus target,” he said.
Frank Bainimarama, Fiji’s prime minister, wrote an opinion piece for the Guardian earlier this week urging Australia to fully commit to achieving net zero emissions. The $5bn surplus the government predicted in the December Mid-Year Economic and Financial Outlook “could easily be eliminated under changed circumstances”, he said.
“All across the Pacific, our prayers are with Australia,” he wrote. “But prayers alone will not turn back the tides of the climate crisis facing the world; for that, we need meaningful action.” The bushfire crisis could cut 0.1 to 0.2 percentage points from Australia’s already anaemic economic growth figures, ANZ’s chief economist says.
The $70m donation from Andrew and Dr Nicola Forrest will be administered through their Minderoo Foundation. In a new report released today, David Plank and his team said the effect could be felt over the final quarter of 2019 and the first of the new year.
The fire fund will see $10m given to immediate bushfire relief, another $10m for mobile specialist volunteers, and $50m for long-term planning for fire resilience. Growth in gross domestic product was just 0.4% for the three months to the end of September, the most recent period for which statistics are available.
You can find more details here. Figures for the December quarter, which includes the start of the bushfire season and a Christmas period that appears to have disappointed retailers, are due to be released at the start of March.
The government has extended the recovery and restoration grants to the Break O’Day council, for people who lost homes or businesses in the Fingal bushfires. “This is necessarily a best first guess, and it will be refined as more information comes to hand,” Plank said.
Here’s a little bit more detail on what tomorrow’s fire weather forecast means for Victoria, from Stephen McGibbony at the Bureau of Meteorology. “This initial impact will be offset (to at least some extent) in later quarters, as rebuilding gets under way.”
As on other significant fire weather days, the BoM has forecast hot temperatures fanned by northerly/north-westerly winds, with a wind change to a south-westerly later in the day that will be followed by a few hours of very strong, gusty winds. Those gusts could get up to 90km/h in elevated areas. He urged the Morrison government to spend more on rebuilding than the $2bn it has so far pledged over two years.
A strong wind warning has been issued for coastal areas tomorrow, including the Gippsland Lakes and East Gippsland coast, and McGibbony said the bureau may issue a damaging winds warning for the Gippsland and East Gippsland coast and alpine regions. “We think the support for affected communities during and following these tragic events, along with wider economic benefits that could be gained, justifies current and additional fiscal loosening, as required,” he said.
The fire danger ratings for Victoria tomorrow are lower than they were on Monday last week, when the East Gippsland fires destroyed dozens of homes and killed two people, and on Saturday, when dozens more homes in the north-east and East Gippsland were destroyed. David Littleproud:
But McGibbony said that did not mean the risk had subsided. Elgas has issued handling warnings for gas bottles for people in the fire zones, ahead of their evacuations, given reports of exploding cylinders in the blazes:
“We are still seeing severe to extreme fire danger to parts of the state,” he said. “In East Gippsland the fire danger comes out as very high, because there’s a bit more humidity around. But it’s still a very hot day with very gusty winds. It’s still a significant day in terms of fire weather.” For residences that have 45kg or larger home gas bottles or cylinders, here are five safety tips to undertake before the fire arrives or before evacuating:
In the last 20 minutes or so the town of Parndana on Kangaroo Island has been told to take shelter, with public alarms blaring, and the ADF reportedly saying they are under threat from flare-ups on the west. 1. Turn it off (in clockwise direction) at valve on top of the bottle.
We’ve just received a press released that a man whose uninsured house was destroyed in bushfires has won $1m in the lottery. 2. Leave the bottle or cylinder where it has been installed.
The unidentified man from Redlands in Queensland, was told of his win after the Wednesday night draw. He said it was “unreal”. 3. Leave the bottle or cylinder in an upright position.
“My family just lost their home in the bushfires in northern New South Wales and it wasn’t insured, so thank you very much,” he was quoted as saying. 4. Ensure it is secured to a solid structure and on a solid base to prevent it falling over, with the Pressure Relief Valve vent facing away from building. The vent is the protrusion, usually with a dust cover, that is opposite of where the gas line screws into the valve.
“I can’t wait to go home and give my wife a big kiss and a cuddle! The entry was marked with her special numbers and now they’ve delivered in a big way.” 5. Remove any combustible materials surrounding the gas bottles.
The house in northern NSW was destroyed in during the ongoing bushfire crisis. Please ensure you:
“All that was left of the home was a few charred teacups,” he said. 1. Never move an LPG bottle inside a house or structure, as it can be a hazard to firefighters.
“We didn’t know if we would ever be able to rebuild but now we definitely can!” 2. Never lay it on its side.
Labor’s shadow health minister, Chris Bowen, has some suggestions on what should happen with mental health services during the bushfire crisis: 3. Never cover it with wet material to it keep cool. These materials may dry out and burn, heating the bottle/cylinder.
When you return home:
• Ensure all supply valves and appliances are turned off if safe to do so.
• Do not attempt to start any LPG appliance, or turn supply back on, until the installation is checked by a gasfitter.
• If your cylinders are heat- or fire-damaged Elgas will replace them without cost.
• If cylinders have fallen or are upturned, do not attempt to move them, contact Elgas on 131 161.
• If you can hear or smell LPG turn cylinders off if safe to do so and call Elgas on 131 161 or a licensed gas fitter. Stay well clear of the installation keep any sources of ignition away.
Coalition MPs have told us they have been invited to listen in on a phone hook-up with Scott Morrison, Michael McCormack and David Littleproud at 3pm Canberra time.
It’s to discuss the government’s national response. And also to assure them that the Morrison government is on top of the situation.