In Australia, there is a common misconception that if you live by the water or within the suburbs of a major city, you are safe from bushfires. There is also a common misconception that if your area is affected one year, you’ll be safe the next.
The devastating wildfires in the USA raise two questions for Australians: could Australian cities such as Sydney and Melbourne face similar catastrophic fires? And how prepared are we for this? The answers are: yes, and not very prepared.
Australian cities, such as Canberra and Melbourne, have in the past experienced large-scale uncontrolled bushfires (the 2003 Canberra bushfires and Black Saturday bushfires in Melbourne) within and close to the city limits, though not to the same magnitude as the fires recently seen in California. As climate change drives more intense and frequent extreme weather globally, this is likely to increase the likelihood of such fires occurring both in fire danger areas, as well as areas previously at low or reduced risk.
Fires are often accompanied by a heatwave event, as was the case with both the LA and recent Victorian Grampians fires, resulting in the ‘perfect storm’. In a recent article we discussed the fact that despite having devastating impacts on human and environmental health, a heatwave has never been declared a disaster in Australia.
A heatwave disaster declaration would allow the suspension of JobSeeker Payment mutual obligations and the pausing of social security debt repayments, along with the potential activation of disaster payments and allowances.
There is nothing in current social security law and policy which prevents the state governments from declaring a heatwave disaster. It requires no additional legislation in Victoria in order to unlock these provisions of social security law for affected people, who are often already more vulnerable to extreme heat due to housing disadvantage.
SSRV is interested in learning more about individuals’ experiences of social security protection and support in the event of a heatwave. If you have a story you’d like to tell us, please get in contact with us by emailing info@ssrv.org.au.
