MICK Keelty’s report into the cause of the November bushfire, which destroyed 34 houses and nine holiday chalets in Kilcarnup, Prevelly, Gnarabup and Redgate, may be made public by the end of the month.
Speaking exclusively to the Mail on Saturday after officially opening Augusta-Margaret River Shire’s new administration and civic centre, Premier Colin Barnett said he hoped to see a copy of the report by today, Wednesday.
“I expect to have the report by Mr Keelty within two or three days – by sometime early in the next week,” Mr Barnett said on Saturday.
“It will be considered by Cabinet and will then be tabled in Parliament – which will make it a public document.
“I would hope that that (report tabled in Parliament) could happen by the end of the month,” Mr Barnett said.
He said he did not yet know “what is in the report.”
Mr Keelty, a former Australian Federal Police commissioner who also investigated the Perth Hills bushfires which destroyed 71 homes and damaged another 39 in February last year, handed his Margaret River bushfire report to Public Sector Commissioner Mal Wauchope on Monday last week.
Mr Barnett said the Public Sector Commissioner’s role was to check for any potential “legal” issues in the report.
He said this principally related to “whether individuals were treated fairly in the report”.
Mr Keelty was tasked by the Premier in December, under section 24 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 which is administered by Mr Wauchope, to investigate the cause of the bushfire which resulted from Department of Environment and Conservation prescribed burn BS520.
Mr Keelty was not tasked to investigate how DEC and the Fire and Emergency Services Authority managed the fire fight. Mr Barnett has previously said “matters relating to the conduct of the fire suppression effort will be reviewed through the normal DEC and FESA processes”.
On Saturday Mr Barnett toured the fire area before opening the shire centre. He told the crowd he was “surprised and delighted by the resilience of nature”, but admitted the fire area was “still a very stark moonscape environment.”
He presented shire president Ray Colyer with a cheque for $40,000 to fund “activities to help lift spirits in the local community”.
“I understand the fire has had a devastating and ongoing impact on some residents,” Mr Barnett said. “While over 30 homes were lost, it should also be remembered that hundreds more were saved thanks to the extraordinary efforts of fire fighters.
“The State Government has tried to provide what support we can.”
Later, a media statement issued by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet listed that support as $500,000 to the Lord Mayor’s Distress Relief Fund, $250,000 from Tourism WA for a campaign to help small tourism operators and up to $100,000 from existing Small Business Development Corporation programs.
Shire community development manager, Paul Gravett said the $40,000 would be put towards “a range of healing and recovery projects for the community as a whole.”
Cr Colyer described the funding as a “show of goodwill” by the government.
n The first payments from the Lord Mayor’s Distress Relief Fund, totalling $298,000, have been distributed to victims of the Margaret River bushfire.
Fourteen payments ranging from $7000 to $32,000 were made to people whose homes were destroyed in the fire, Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi said. Amounts varied depending on whether applicants were home owners or occupiers.
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