Canberra is likely to experience an average level of bushfire danger over the summer period, but officials believe the ACT is better prepared to respond to emergencies in 2023 than in any other year, the Emergency Services Minister has said.
Mick Gentleman said the territory would need to remain vigilant despite the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Advisory Council's finding the territory would have an average fire potential across the bushfire season.
"Average fire potential does not mean that we are immune to risk, and particularly in and around our grasslands to the north and west," he said in a statement to the Legislative Assembly.
The government has contracted one light helicopter, equipped with "specialist intelligence gathering" tools, including a high-definition and infrared camera, and two medium helicopters to support aerial firefighting services in the territory in the 2023-24 season.
Fifty-thousand litres of firefighting retardant will also be kept pre-mixed and ready for use at short notice.
The ACT Rural Fire Service had also worked with surrounding NSW districts on the drafting of updated bushfire plans, which Mr Gentleman said recognised bushfire threats might start in the territory or cross over from the NSW side of the border.
Mr Gentleman said higher daytime temperatures and below average rainfall from October to December would combine with above average grass fuel loads to the north-west of the ACT to deliver an increased grassfire risk.
"Hot and dry conditions also mean that we are likely to see more extreme heat and heatwaves this summer than we have for the last few years," Mr Gentleman said.
The Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday formally declared an El Nino weather event, which is linked to hot and dry conditions. The bureau warned global heat would continue until the middle of next year.
The NSW Rural Fire Service upgraded the Far South Coast to a catastrophic fire danger, as a spring heatwave brought temperatures above 30 degrees in Sydney, on the South Coast and in the state's central west.
The NSW RFS has forecast high fire danger ratings for the South Coast on Wednesday, but a total fire ban has been declared for Sydney and the Greater Hunter, where the danger is forecast as extreme.
Mr Gentleman said extreme weather events from the northern hemisphere, a result of a warming climate, had provided valuable lessons to the territory.
"We are of course aware of the impacts of climate change on our territory, and we see the evidence of those changes most dramatically in our emergency management areas. We have witnessed over the last five years more frequent and severe bushfires, but also more frequent and intense storms and rainfall," he said.
"Other climate influenced emergencies are on the rise, and our emergency managers are adapting to this challenging environment."
Mr Gentleman said the Black Summer fire season of 2019-20 had been comprehensively reviewed. The reviews had identified improvements which were being made or "progressed to implementation".
"These include communication and co-ordination, decision making, intelligence collection and collation, and transition between response to recovery phases," he said.
Mr Gentleman said the Emergency Services Agency, which oversees the response to bushfires and other natural disasters, had undertaken preparation workshops, while the ACT government had reviewed all emergency planning across its directorates.
"This preparedness was recently the subject of a briefing to all senior officials in government with responsibility for emergency management, to solidify the one-government approach to our emergency arrangements, as led by our security and emergency management division," he said.
"I am pleased to report that these senior officials agreed that the ACT is more prepared in 2023 than in any time in our past. While there are always more ways in which we can improve, we are on a strong path to provide for and protect the ACT community."
Mr Gentleman also thanked former Emergency Services Agency commissioner Georgeina Whelan for her commitment to Canberrans' safety and security.
Ms Whelan resigned in July following a damning review of the agency's executive management which found the agency had a culture of blame and fear and mistrust between leaders; the review said a "cultural shift" was needed.
