Peter Dutton, the Minister for Everything except his own portfolio

Peter Dutton seems free and willing to comment on every part of government except his own - the mega Department of Home Affairs.

Peter Dutton (ABC News,: Jed Cooper)

Catastrophic bushfires season of 2019-20

Dutton was mostly silent during the catastrophic bushfires season of 2019-20 even though the federal body Emergency Management is now part of Home Affairs and their brief is to 

"lead the Australian Government disaster and emergency management response."

Dutton did make a false accusation that arsonists were to largely blame for the bushfires.

For the duration of the bushfires, Dutton was simply missing in action.

Early response to COVID-19 Pandemic response in Australia

Peter Dutton was also very quiet during the early response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He did state that in response to people hoarding toilet paper that "We will come down like a tonne of bricks on those individuals because I think they’re the ones that have created this pattern of behaviour with hoarding and clearing shelves and normally sensible people have been wrapped in this because they’ve panicked when they’ve seen the shelves empty" 

On Friday 13 March it was announced the Peter Dutton had tested positive to COVID-19 after returning from the United States. He had met with other government ministers earlier in the week so there were concerns he may have spread the infection.

The Ruby Princess debacle

On 19 March the cruise ship Ruby Princess berthed in Sydney Harbour and thousands of passengers were allowed to disembark without any health checks or instructions to self-quarantine, despite the knowledge that people on the ship were ill with COVID-19 symptoms.

Australian Border Force, also under Home Affairs has responsibility at airports and seaports for: 

• "We protect Australia's border and enable legitimate travel and trade. 
• "We safeguard our border from people who seek to commit immigration fraud or threaten Australia's safety and security.
• "We use the Incoming Passenger Card as a declaration of person's entry into Australia, and to provide information on a person's health, character details and biosecurity information."

Yet the Ruby Princess passengers were allowed to disembark, apparently without any involvement from Border Force, or a decision within Border Force was made to allow them to.

The Ruby Princess cruise ship has been the epicentre of Australia’s COVID-19 outbreak, with 600 cases and 19 deaths recorded from passengers on board.

Dutton refuses to answer questions about this or to take any responsibility for the apparent errors made by Border Force. Instead he has attempted to shift blame to NSW Health and NSW Police.

The distractions

Since the Ruby Princess, Dutton has commented on various matters in other portfolios including:

• 16 April: Attacked the World Health Organisation (WHO) for recommending China's wet markets to reopen (Greg Hunt, Health Minister)
• 17 April; Demanding transparency from China on origins of COVID-19 outbreak (Marise Payne, Foreign Affairs Minister)
• 22 April: China's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic (Marise Payne, Foreign Affairs Minister)
• 22 April: Attacking China about COVID-19 origins (Marise Payne, Foreign Affairs Minister)
• 24 April: Attacking the Queensland State Government and teachers union about their approach to managing COVID-19 in schools (Dan Tehan, Education Minister)
• 24 April: Attacking banks for their lack of support to businesses waiting for wage subsidy payments (Josh Frydenberg, Treasurer)
• 30 April: The COVIDsafe app (Stuart Robert, Minister for Services)
• 1 May: Attacks Victorian Deputy Chief Health Officer over a personal tweet comparing impacts of COVID-19 & arrival of the First Fleet (Greg Hunt, Health Minister)

Peter Dutton weighs in regularly across multiple government portfolios, usually with a strong criticisms, yet he is seeminly unable to answer any questions about Home Affairs.

It is possible that all these attacks are distractions from his own responsibilities.  

Dutton's ambition to be Prime Minister might also be in play, he could be circling for a spill.

Dutton's aggressive stance on China, under the guise of a global #COVID19 investigation, has now started a trade war with China at a time Australia when we can least afford it.

The various ministers listed above should handle the matters they are responsible for and Dutton should focus on his day job.

Why hasn't a national emergency been declared for 2019-20 catastrophic bushfires in Australia?

As at 11:00am Thursday 2 January 2020, 13+ people have died, more are missing. 6 million+ hectares burnt, 1500+ houses destroyed. Millions of animals dead. Evacuation in progress of 4,000+ people from Mallacoota and more from the NSW south coast. Many fires have been lit by recent dry lightning strikes.

Bushfires have crossed state borders of NSW, VIC and ACT. Mega fires in eastern Victoria and south NSW could join up. National coordination is clearly required.

Federal assets - army, navy, leased firefighting aircraft and personnel have now been deployed in support roles. Why are there different levels of support between NSW and VIC?

Emergency Management Australia (now under Home Affairs) has responsibility for coordinating and supporting national response to emergencies. Peter Dutton and David Littleproud are responsible ministers.

Littleproud said on 2 Jan that "APAC is coordinating the response" - but it is a peak body for collaboration, not coordination.

If a national emergency was declared, a national coordination centre (under EMA) could be spun up and would be directly responsibility to the Morrison government (Littleproud perhaps).

So far Scott Morrison, Michael McCormack, Peter Dutton and David Littleproud have NOT declared a national emergency.

Catastrophic bushfires and property losses have occurred in recently WA, SA, VIC, NSW, QLD and ACT. Many lives have been lost in SA, VIC and NSW.

This is gross dereliction of duty in the face of clear and present danger.

• NSW - 15 deaths, 1300 homes lost
• SA - 2 deaths, 90 homes lost
• VIC - 1 death, 18 missing, 81 homes lost

If there is no actual mechanism to declare a national emergency (State of Emergency can be declared only by individual states) here is a solution:

1. Convene meeting of State Emergency Coordinators & premiers

2. Agree to declare national emergency

3. Determine which federal resources are required in states/territories

4. EMA establish national emergency coordination centre

5. Legislate to provide for this in the future.

Video: Bushfire emergency has claimed 1000 homes and razed an area the size of Belgium, ABC 7.30

Links

• Incidents and Warnings - VicEmergency 
• MyFireWatch - Bushfire map information Australia 
• Fires Near Me - NSW RFS 
• What is Emergency Alert? - Emergency Alert. Be Warned. Be Informed. 

Eastern Victoria

NSW South Coast

Sydney and NSW Central Coast 

Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour

Northern NSW to Gold Coast

Tasmanian fires and damage to natural environment - enquiry is needed

To: The Hon. Greg Hunt, Federal Minister for the Environment Greg.Hunt.MP@aph.gov.au

The Hon Will Hodgman, Premier of Tasmania  will.hodgman@parliament.tas.gov.au

I note that areas in excess of 95,000 hectares have been burnt recently by out of control bushfires in Tasmania.  Many of these areas have very significant native vegetation and animals that have been destroyed.

Hectares of burnt cushion plant. Photo: Rob Blakers

I have previously visited and bushwalked in the Tarkine wilderness, the Central Plateau, The Overland Track, the South Coast and South West Cape tracks and the Denison and King William Ranges regions.

Could you please initiate an enquiry to determine:

1. Whether the Tasmanian Fire Service has sufficient resources to control bushfires in remote areas in a timely fashion in order to limit their spread.

2. Whether the federal government needs to provide resources to enhance air support, training, and resources for remote area fire fighters.

3. Whether current resourcing and fire management practices are sufficient to deal with conditions expected from the extended fire seasons that are now anticipated under climate-change scenarios

4. What restoration programs will be required after the 2016 fires, and what resources will be needed to ensure the best possible restoration of fire affected vegetation, especially high altitude mountain environments and cool-temperate rainforests.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Campbell

Links

• ‘Like losing the thylacine’: Fire burns Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Sydney Morning Herald
• Tasmanian bushfires: Damage to Wilderness World Heritage Area to be assessed by specialists - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) 
• Talking Point: Wilderness fires ignite need for better protection, The Mercury

Bushfires rage on mixed land tenures, not National Parks

Via Chris Taylor.

It did not take long, but the logging lobby is now blaming national parks and environmentalists for the recent fires. In the logging industry's newsletter, Timber and Forestry eNews, the lobby are parroting Miranda Devine's article 'Green arrogance burns fiercely'.

The obsession of the logging lobby's focus on just national parks as the driving force behind these fires is misleading at best and outright dangerous at worst, because multiple land tenures have carried these fires. These include state forest, pasture land for grazing, cropping land, conservation reserves and plantations.

In a fire management strategy, ALL land tenures must be considered for the risk of fire that they pose to life and property, not just one. An example of this is the current Aberfeldy-Donnely Creek fire in Gippsland. 

First, the fire is reported to have started in state forest around the Toombon Gold Mine Historic Area reserve, just south east of Aberfeldy. 

Second, it progressed through the state forest, much of it has been extensively roaded and parts logged over the years and it recently had an extensive network of 'fuel breaks' cut through it. Of significance, the entire area carrying the current fire was impacted by the 2007 Great Divide fires only 6 years ago. 

Third, the current fire has progressed out of the state forest into land tenure used for grazing, dryland cropping and possibly irrigated cropping. 

To date, no national park has carried this fire.

We desperately need to have an informed discussion concerning fire risk in our community and cease with the unjustified 'hate mongering' pushed by an extremist minority representing specific political and ideological interests.

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Disgusting propaganda and bile the "logging industry" and their PR hacks spout to justify their crimes against our biosphere. Logging increases fire risk, intact forests mitigage it (not cows).

Extreme weather was the main cause of Black Saturday bushfires

I attended a seminar on April 21, 2009 about the catastrophic bushfires in Victoria on Black Saturday. The seminar was organised by the Melbourne School of Land and Environment at Melbourne University.

The speakers and topics were:

Professor David Karoly - Is this climate change?
School of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science

Dr Kevin Tolhurst - Bushfire behavior under extreme climate
Department of Forest & Ecosystem Science, Melbourne School of Land and Environment

Dr Patrick Lane - Implications for subsequent catchment water yield
Department of Forest & Ecosystem Science, Melbourne School of Land and Environment

These talks shed some light on the scientific observations about recent bushfires on February 7 2009 in Victoria and the reasons why they were so severe.

Professor David Karoly stressed that the extreme weather parameters on and leading up to February 7 were the most important factor, including:

• Record low rainfall - 35 days of no rain up to February 7
• Record low relatively humidity on February 7th of 5%
• The hottest recorded temperature of 46.7 on February 7

The strong north winds and the southerly wind change on February 7th were not unusual in themselves, but combined with the above factors, and ignition of the fires, the results were catastrophic.

Bushfire index ratings compared between extreme fires are:

• 100: Black Friday in 1939
• 120: Ash Wednesday in 1983
• 140 to 190: Black Saturday. These figures have never been seen before and are regarded as in the "catastrophic" range.

Professor Karoly also pointed out that CSIRO scientific predictions are that the current rate of climate change were are experiencing will result in 4 times as many extreme fire dangers days like Black Saturday each year by 2050.

He concluded with these observations:

• A tragedy occurred with the bushfires in SE Australia on 7 February 2009
• It is difficult to separate the influences of climate variability, climate change, and changes in fire management strategies on observed increases in fire activity
• Climate change is increasing the likelihood of environmental conditions associated with extreme fire danger in south-east Australia
• Observed increases in forest fire activity have been linked to climate change in the western US, in Canada, in Spain and in Greece.

Dr Kevin Tolhurst provided some scientific research results on the spread and intensity of fires. The scale of these fires has not been modelled to date, and factors such as extreme convection columns have not been studied or modelled to date.

In summary, Kevin stated that:

• Dominant factors affecting fire behaviour change with the scale of the fire
• Fire size and atmospheric instabilty are important to blowup fire behaviour - they enable feedback which increases the fire intensity
• Drought is an important precursor to high intensity fires - previously "wet" forests, gullies and moist slopes burn
• The fire footprint (the overall size of the area burnt) is determined by only a few hours of extreme weather
• Fire behaviour is a dynamic process and therefore needs dynamic modelling.

The forum concluded with a moderated general discussion of the science of bushfires.

I pointed out that many fires active on Black Saturday such as the Bunyip fire burnt large areas of farmland as well as forest areas (two thirds of the Bunyip fire was cleared farmland), and asked whether recent commentary in the media about fuel loads being the major cause of the fires, particularly in forest areas, was correct.

Kevin stated that the extreme weather dominated the fire behaviour rather than fuel loads which played a lesser role. As an example, he mentioned the Lara bushfire on grass paddocks on 8 January 1969 along the Geelong Road that killed 17 people trapped in their cars. In total, 280 fires broke out on the 8th of January 1969. Of these, 12 grass fires reached major proportions and burnt 250,000 hectares. The fires also destroyed 230 houses, 21 other buildings and more than 12,000 stock.

For also stated that less extreme fires, fuel loads can play a greater role in contributing to the extent and heat of the fire.

There was also a question from a member of the "Stretton Group" as to why fuel reduction burning similar to that conducted in Western Australia is not done in Victoria.

Kevin responded that the weather systems, forest types, and flora and fauna impacts are different between WA and Victoria, so the WA burning regime is not directly comparable or relevant to conditions in Victoria.

Around 100,000 hectares of forest has now been burnt twice in succession in 2003 and 2006/7, which has killed the large areas of Mountain Ash forest and the seed for these trees, which cannot now regenerate.

So climate change is contributing to the frequency and severity of bushfires, which are now destroying wet forest that would previously have acted as a natural fire breaks. As theses wetter forests are not adapted for burining, they will now largely replaced with dry schlerophyl forest which is more prone to burning in the future. Increased fuel reduction burning, as advocated by some sectors of the forest industy and associated lobby groups, would further exacerbate this situation.

It is clear that we need to make decisions about land and forest management and bushfire management based on firm scientific evidence rather than pressure from ill informed lobby groups.

Armstrong Creek catchment

Lake Mountain toboggan run

Regenerating tree - Acheron Way

Burnt forest and regenerating tree ferns - Acheron Way

Links

• Bushfires and extreme heat in south-east Australia, David Karoly, RealClimate, 16 February 2009
• 2009 Victorian bushfires, Greenlivingpedia
• Bushfires; Ash Wednesday, Holties House, Friday, December 15, 2006
• Prescribed burns are prejudging the bushfire inquiry , Crikey, Tuesday, 21 April 2009
  
  
  
  
  

Every drop is precious

Recent logging industry claims that logging our catchments will improve water yields and protect them are false and opportunistic. Scientists have confirmed that logging in our water catchments, like bushfires, decreases the quality and quantity of water they produce.

The recent catastrophic bushfires travelled at alarming speed, up to 100km/h, across farmland and through plantations and heavily "managed" forests, including forests where recent fuel reduction burns had been done. Bushfire and climate scientists have confirmed that Victoria's hottest day every, combined with very strong north winds, created conditions for an unstoppable firestorm.

The bushfires slowed considerably when they eventually entered Melbourne's water catchments. Intact wet sclerophyll forests in our water catchments are less prone to burning, and temperatures and wind speeds have eased. Melbourne Water is doing a great job managing our protected catchments.

However, the Victorian government has been sitting on their hands holding continual reviews about the destruction of some of our catchments by logging; it is now time for action. Stage 4 water restrictions are looming in the near future, and every drop of water is precious. We are now facing less water in our dams and drastically reduced rainfall across the state.

Melbourne's water catchments, and those elsewhere across the Victoria, should be immediately protected from logging in the interests of all Victorians.

Bolt dogwhistling: Stridently dark green

From Andrew Bolt in today's Heraldsun: Stridently dark green

GLOBAL warming preachers have been crowing over the bushfires in ways not just despicable but dangerous.

Here are Bolt's lies:

• Green activists had been desperately wrong to oppose fuel reduction burns (Greens policies support fuel reduction burning)


• Sat 7 Feb was not Victoria's hottest day on record (it was, he quotes an anecdotal newspaper report)


• Forest experts insist that green policies on forest management helped to kill so many in the first place (no forest experts quoted - anonymous sources, and an outright lie)


• The planet actually hasn't warmed for a decade, and we've faced even worse conditions than these before (not true)


• Global warming is not associated with the recent bushfires (not true - the increased risk of such events has been predicted the the CSIRO and climate scientists)


• Global warming preachers are desperate to try to fool you (Who exactly? This is just mud throwing)


• But I don't just write all this to go nyah-nyah. Normally that's fun, I admit, but too many people are dead for such crowing of my own. (hypocrite - that is exactly what he is doing)


• Greenhouse gases which might not actually cause the warming that might already have stopped anyway. And which didn't cause these fires. (incorrect)

And a false dichotomy:

Bolts $4b "plan" OR the greens' $100 billion and more to "stop" global warming?

Bolt doesn't have a plan other than a random assortment of ideas he has pinched from recent newspaper articles. The Greens don't have a $100 billion plan to stop global warming.

Clearly, some actions on addressing bushfire risk and emergency procedures are required. The Royal Commission will hear, gather and assess evidence, then make recommendations. I think the vast majority of them should be enacted.

In short:

Fear, no evidence and incorrect sums, blaming, and several red herrings.

This is more of Bolt's propaganda war against "greens", "Greens", conservation and anyone who believes we should take action to address climate change and global warming. It is a mixture of mud slinging and denial.

And here is online response to Bolt's shameless dogwhistling:

“I am disgusted with the whole 'green' movement. Every 'green' advocate should be cut -quartered-and hung. Bob Brown & the other 'green' cronies should not be given the time of day. What's more important - the life of a tree, or human life? Bugger the environment, if it means my life is in jeopardy? The environment has looked after itself quite well for God knows how long, & it will continue to do so - without my help thank-you very much!

Posted by: Steve Morgan of Echuca 8:29am today”

Andrew Bolt (and Miranda Devine) must accept full responsibility if their hate-mongering and lies results in murder and/or "lynching".

I wonder if they both believe their nonsense? If they do they are idiots, if they don't they are pariahs; best avoided.

Barrie Cassidy blames greens for bushfires

The harrowing tales from survivors and CFA people on the After the Firestorm: An ABC News Special" tonight were compelling viewing.

However, the host Barrie Cassidy then displayed the most appalling and offensive editorialising journalism I have ever seen the ABC broadcast.

Barrie Cassidy said "and people say the greens have too much influence, what do think Peter Attiwell?"

This was a leading question for Attiwell, who is ex Forestry faculty Melbourne Uni and has been employed by the Victorian Association of Forest Industries (VAFI) at various times. Attiwell has previously made public statements about "logging being good for forests", "forests need disturbance" and the "importance of fuel reduction burning for forest management" over recent years.

Attiwell's response to this leading question was inaccurate on several counts, and represented a pro-logging anti conservation political position.

Attiwell claimed that

• there is far too much fuel in the forests and that is why the fires were so bad
• The 1983 Royal Commission made 23 (?) recommendations and the government has only implemented 6, oops 7 of them
• There hasn't been nearly enough burning, the cycle is once every 30(?) years, only a very small percentage has been fuel reduction burnt.
• We need to burn on a cycle of every 7 years to make things safe
• We don't need another commission, we just need proper burning. Ecological burning.

No contrary opinions to this were aired or raised.

Cassidy also failed to mention that Black Saturday was the hottest day on record in Victoria and in any Australian capital city ever, and that the three days above 43C the previous week made the entire state tinder dry. These type of extreme weather events have been linked by Professor David Karoly and the CSIRO to the effects of climate change.

I know for a fact that a lot of the forest around Marysville has been fuel reduction burnt by DSE on numerous occasions over the last 10 years. This of course made no difference to the ferocity of the fire.

There is no scientific consensus on the claimed ecological benefits of fuel reduction burning. It is actually done to reduce fuel loads, not manage ecology. Scientists have also observed that excessive burning of native forests can actually make them more prone to burning by changing the ecology of the forest from wet sclerophyll to more fire prone dry sclerophyll over time.

Much of the fires burnt on grassland, farmland, plantations and heavily "managed" and logged native forest. Around 50% of the area burnt was privately owned land.

On Cassidy's mention of "the greens", there are no elected Greens in the Murrindindi, Yea or even Nillumbik shires, and there are none in the Victorian State Parliament in these regions either. To claim that greens set policies in these regions is specious and ludicrous. Policies are set state and local governments, and enacted by DSE, the CFA and other government departments.

In addition, fuel reduction burning, conducted without species and habitat loss, is are actually supported by the Greens and organisations such as the Wilderness Society, so Cassidy is dead wrong on this too.

Barry Cassidy's conduct on this matter was biased against the Green political party and local and state conservation groups.

It was also extremely offensive and inaccurate. Opportunistic political comments by those pushing agendas are grossly insensitive to bushfire victims.

As I have stated previously, the only focus at present should be to find the deceased and help the survivors and others deeply affected. I and many of my friends (some of whom are still fighting the fires and are on the ground in affected areas) have been deeply personally affected by these bushfires and the loss of life.

Barrie Cassidy should be subject to disciplinary action and the ABC should also issue a formal retraction of his comments.

You can comment on the ABC TV program website too.

The Victorian bushfires tragedy

My sympathies go to the many families, relatives and friends, and everyone across Australia for this tragedy. The entire nation is suffering. We need to pull together as a community and nation to help recover and assist those who are grieving and have suffered great loss.

Opportunistic political comments by those pushing agendas are grossly insensitive to bushfire victims.

The only focus at present is still finding the deceased and helping the survivors and others deeply affected. I and many of my friends (some of whom are still fighting the fires and are on the ground in affected areas) have been deeply personally affected by these bushfires and the loss of life.

The real cause of our terrible bushfires

Recent media statements by the logging industry about "the Greens being responsible for Victoria's bushfires" and why they think the solution is "more logging and burning of native forests" are way off the mark.

Here is an example: Locking up precious forest areas is playing with fire

The Department of Sustainabililty and the Bracks government currently determine forest management practices, not the Greens. Current practices include both significant fuel reduction burning and logging. In addition, much of the forest burnt in this year's terrible fires was badly burnt in the fires of Eastern Victorian alpine bushfires of 2003.

Two major contributing factors to the very bad bushfires in Victoria this year are that:

• Logging has actually increased the fire risk in Victoria by progressively replacing cool temperate rainforest pockets with drier and more fire prone eucalypt forests.

• Climate change has now reduced our rainfall, so the forests are much drier than usual

Next the rapacious logging industry will lobby for "salvage logging" of our burnt forests under the pretext that this is also "good management". However, this will further damage our forests, as the logging will disturb and remove many of the trees before they can regenerate, and will destroy many hollow trees that provide habitat for animals that survive the bushfires.

It is time for the logging and woodchipping industry to get out of our native forests and start using the oversupply of plantation timber that is available. There are enough jobs in plantation-based industries to replace all those involved in the rapidly declining native forest industry.