Government to Consult on Black Saturday Report
21 July 2010 at 2:10 pm
The Victorian Government says it will consult with community groups and other agencies before responding to the final report of the Royal Commission inquiring into the 2009 Victorian bushfires which is due at the end of the month.
The Royal Commission is scheduled to deliver its final report on the Black Saturday Bushfires to the Governor on Saturday 31 July, 2010.
The Victorian Government established a Royal Commission to inquire into every aspect of the 2009 Victorian bushfires in which 173 people died.
The Government says it will carefully consider the final report and will consult over coming weeks with the community groups, agencies and businesses affected by the Commission’s recommendations before formulating its response.
Premier John Brumby says the Government had spoken to groups and organisations who said they would like the opportunity to contribute to the Government’s response to the recommendations made by the Royal Commission.
He says there are a significant number of groups and organisations – including local government, volunteer fire fighters, environment groups, tourism groups, energy groups, health groups, building groups, community recovery committees – who want to be kept informed and express their views.
The Government says it will be giving people impacted by the recommendations the opportunity to contribute and the views of the Victorian community will help to inform the Government’s response to the final report, to ensure that the concerns of the community are properly addressed.
The Government says it will work to provide a full response to the final report within a few weeks and will release information about the implementation of immediate initiatives as needed.
Prior to the final report, the Victorian Government requested an interim report from the Royal Commission by 31 August, 2009 in order to consider recommendations before the 2009/10 bushfire season.
The Government has implemented a range of measures to improve Victoria’s preparation for, and response to, future bushfires. These measures stem from both the Government’s response to the Bushfire Royal Commission’s interim recommendations and its own new measures.
The report will be available online at www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au and also at www.vic.gov.au.
