Funding to support disaster resilience in the primary industries has been highlighted today at the South Australian Forest Products Association (SAFPA) disaster resilience summit in Mt Gambier.
A new pilot project led by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) and Primary Producers SA (PPSA) has received $770,000 from the State Government’s Disaster Risk Reduction grant program to prepare the agricultural sector and mitigate the impacts of compounding and increasingly complex natural disasters.
Funded through a national partnership agreement between the Commonwealth and South Australian Governments, the project takes an industry-led approach to minimising disruptions to supply chains and maintaining the production and profitability of regional communities.
This support is subsequent to the $26.7 million investment made by the Malinauskas Government to increase the Country Fire Service’s aerial firefighting fleet, which for the first time has seen a Blackhawk helicopter with 4,500L capacity for water and foam substantively based at Mount Gambier during the 2023/24 fire danger season.
Additionally,the upgrade of the latest fire observation tower in Lucindale South has now been completed featuring game changing artificial intelligence ( technology now rolled out across the region. The cameras are now fully operational at Comaum, Mount Benson, The Bluff, Carpenter Rocks, Mount Burr and Furner.
It is the first time the Pano AI system has been implemented commercially in Australia as part of the South Australian Government’s $2.3 million fire tower network upgrade project, with $1 million targeting the new technology – and it has already been able to assist with early detection of several bushfires in the South East.
Bringing together these advancements for the Limestone Coast region, the Limestone Coast Disaster Resilience Summit was attended by Minister Clare Scriven and Minister Joe Szakacs, and included delegates from across government, industry, and the not-for-profit sector to enhance integrated preparedness across the disaster management spectrum.
Quotes
Attributable to Clare Scriven
This $770,000 commitment from Commonwealth and State Governments will assist in safeguarding our community and key primary industries across the state.
It complements our continued roll out of new technology for fire towers which are assisting in earlier detection of bushfires in an effort to protect South Australia’s $1.4bn forest industries.
Today’s summit here in the Limestone Coast continues our strong partnership between government and industry as we work together to reduce the impacts of disasters.
Attributable to Joe Szakacs
The State Government’s Disaster Risk Reduction grants are critical in taking action to address the causes of disaster risk and to strengthen the resilience of communities to withstand and adapt to a changing environment.
The Malinauskas Government is committed delivering investment and leadership around disaster response and preparedness. That is why we are assisting vital industries such the agriculture sector, as well as ensuring frontline firefighters supported by aerial firefighting capabilities.
Attributable to Chair of SAFPA Governing Council, Tammy Auld
SAFPA’s Limestone Coast Disaster Resilience Summit is putting disaster preparedness and risk mitigation at the centre of safeguarding the Limestone Coast community against complex and compounding disasters.
This Summit has attracted key heavy weights from State and Local Governments, corporate entities, local authorities and representatives from the Victorian Government to ensure all responsible entities are working better together on our disaster preparedness and risk mitigation plans.
Having Minister Clare Scriven and Minister Joe Szakacs in attendance highlights the importance of safeguarding lives, property, and infrastructure in our region and that the Limestone Coasts regional economy is at the forefront of the Government’s agenda.
Every year, forestry industries invest $13 million into fire detection, prevention and response including more than 300 firefighters, specialist firefighting tankers and associated equipment. Having the State Government’s significant investment in fire detection technologies as well as two additional aerial appliances adds another layer of protection to safeguard our industry, communities, and our region.
Attributable to PPSA CEO Caroline Rhodes
Primary producers are on the frontline of climate change, facing an increasing number and severity of single natural disasters every year.
There are numerous existing industry plans that identify disaster risks, but this project seeks to identify opportunities and gaps to assist industry and government to consolidate disaster risk reduction strategies and identify areas for shared action.
Government and primary producers understand hazards and have experience dealing with single disaster events, however the impacts of compounding and cascading disasters which are increasingly likely to occur are less understood.
