2016-02-03
Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman’s vague commitment to a review of his government’s response to the fires still burning in Tasmania is a totally unacceptable response to a national crisis, Greens Senator for Tasmania Nick McKim says.
“Mr Hodgman’s thought bubble, released deep in the evening, contains no terms of reference, no commitment to seeking public input, or holding public hearings, and no indication of who might conduct the ‘review’,” Senator McKim said.
“The only acceptable outcome is a fully independent inquiry chaired by someone like a recently retired judge or fire commissioner, funded to take public submissions and hold public hearings into both state and commonwealth responses so we can get to the bottom of why it took so long for governments to act, and why adequate resources are still not available.”
“Mr Hodgman knows his government and his Liberal colleagues in Canberra have let the Tasmanian wilderness down, and he’s trying to hide his failure under the carpet with an internal review.”