Hansard debates

Mr DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan—Leader of the Opposition) (11:46:57): I move: That this house: (1) notes that for many years the Victorian government publicly released bushfire fuel load maps; (2) further notes that the government has failed in recent years to publicly release these important maps; and, in accordance with standing order 11.01, requires that the fuel load maps produced by the Victorian government in the last three financial years, including the most recently produced maps, be tabled in the Legislative Council on or before Wednesday, 11 December 2019. This is an important motion. This is in a period leading up to summer. It is a risky season; we understand that. These maps, which were very important over the years, are maps that should be in the public domain. This is a matter of community safety. It is also a matter of good sense that these be in the public domain. I am happy to provide an example to people of a 2018 map provided to the opposition for one particular region, the East Central bushfire risk landscape map that modelled fuel hazards in 2018. There is no reason why these maps cannot be in the public domain; they should be in the public domain. I think this is a straightforward motion and a perfectly sensible use of the documents power of this chamber to put those documents into the public domain ahead of this summer, hence the date in December when I have asked for those maps to be provided. They are already produced. We know they exist—we know this map exists—and those maps, for each region, for each of the last three years, as directed by the motion, should be provided. I think it is only a reasonable approach, and I would seek the chamber’s support for this. In the small amount of time that is left in the opposition’s period here I would seek to see those maps produced by the government by that period in December. Motion agreed to.