Words fail me again to describe the heartache and devastation of bushfire in the Grampians, struck twice in twelve months by natural disaster.  I invited the Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton to visit the Halls Gap community on Wednesday to offer support.

 February’s fire at nearby Pomonal and Dadswells Bridge destroyed 45 Pomonal homes in their community of 300, costing the local economy an estimated $200 million and hundreds of thousands of tourists. 

Dry lightning started a 17 December fire which burned for three weeks near the 450-strong community of Halls Gap. The fire burned 76,000 hectares, destroying four homes in Moyston and Mafeking, 40 outbuildings and 540 kilometres of fencing. The fire also burned 10,053 hectares of pasture, 1285 beehives and killed 775 sheep – not to mention the incalculable cost to flora and fauna.  I thanked CFA volunteers again in Pomonal on Wednesday for their life-saving efforts.

The strong message Peter Dutton, my shadow ministerial colleagues and I received at Halls Gap was that the fire struck during the prime tourist season. Tourism operators earn around 25 per cent of their annual income during the lost three-week period, with businesses collectively losing an estimated $1.9 million per day.

Under Emergency Management arrangements the former Coalition government reformed after the 2019/20 bushfire season, the Federal Government as of 5 January had granted 43 local ‘Category A’ disaster recovery allowance claims, paying out $15,000 with individuals and businesses having until 23 June to lodge their claims. However, three larger Category B, C and D assistance packages rely on the Allan Victorian Labor Government to ask for help. At the time of writing, to their shame, they hadn’t – a repeat of their tardiness after February’s fires.

Insurance costs for some Halls Gap businesses have almost quadrupled since the Pomonal fires, and I fear that both the Halls Gap and Los Angeles bushfires will further harm the global insurance pool and drive premiums up further.  Already under the Albanese Labor Government insurance costs have risen 18 per cent and I am working with locals and the insurance industry to find solutions.

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