QwN: Hon Martin Aldridge re lack of inquiry into Wooroloo Bushfire

The following Question Without Notice was asked by the Nationals Member for Agricultural Region Hon Martin Aldridge MLC and answered today in Parliament by Hon Sue Ellery MLC representing the Emergency Services Minister Hon Reece Whitby MLA.

Nationals Upper House Member for Agricultural Region Hon Martin Aldridge MLC

Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the Leader of the House representing the Minister for Emergency Services:

I refer to the Wooroloo bushfire in February that destroyed over 80 homes north east of Perth and significantly impacted the Shire of Mundaring and the City of Swan.

(1) Given the significance of this event, will the state government commit to undertake an independent review into these fires in a similar manner to the inquiry conducted into the 2016 Waroona bushfire?

(2) Does the state government have a standard practice of conducting independent reviews following major natural disaster events, and what factors are considered when determining whether an independent review is warranted?

(3) Have any requests been made to the state government requesting an independent review into the Wooroloo bushfire; and, if so, please table any such correspondence?

Hon SUE ELLERY replied:

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services advises —

(1) DFES has completed an initial information gathering phase following the 2021 Wooroloo bushfire. The state government is currently considering a draft framework for the review of the Wooroloo bushfire. An announcement on the parameters will be made in due course.

(2) DFES undertakes internal reviews of incident response performance as a matter of routine organisational policy in the context of continual improvement of emergency management. DFES also complies with the State Emergency Management Committee policy for the provision of post-operation reports.

(3) Ministerial correspondence contains personal and sensitive information and the provision of this in an appropriate format would divert departmental staff away from their normal duties. I encourage the member to contact the Minister for Emergency Services for a briefing on this matter.