Fire and smoke detection cameras will be installed on hilltops across the ACT, as part of a trial designed to help authorities better monitor and respond to bushfire threats.
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Money for the six-month trial is part of a $967,000 boost to the territory's emergency services budget, which will be included in the ACT government's mid-year budget review on Thursday.
The investment also includes funding for seven new electronic fire danger-rating signs.
The new camera technology has the potential to dramatically improve the capacity of the ACT Emergency Services Agency to detect fires soon after they ignite.
At present, the agency relies on its surveillance helicopter, as well as operators at the ACT's fire towers - at Mt Tennent, Kowen, One Tree Hill and Mt Coree - to alert it to the presence of fires or smoke. The tower operators don't work at night.
The fire and smoke detection cameras would operate 24 hours a day, feeding images and data back to the agency's headquarters around the clock.
ACT Rural Fire Service chief officer Joe Murphy was excited to see the cameras in action, but stressed there were no guarantees that the technology would be effective in detecting smoke and fire in the ACT's dense rural parks and reserves.
"It's going to be fantastic to have these cameras. But I stress that it's a trial, and we really don't have preconceived outcomes - it's [a case of] suck it and see," he said.
Chief officer Murphy said the cameras would not have improved the response to the Orroral Valley fire in Namadgi National Park, which he said was reported within a "minute or two" of ignition on January 27.
He said the exact locations for the cameras had yet to be determined, although they would be placed on elevated vantage points, such as the existing fire lookout towers.
Emergency Services Minister Mick Gentleman said the camera trial, along with the new roadside signs, would help ensure the ACT was "even more prepared" for the next bushfire season.
"We love our bush capital, however having easy access to nature means the threat of bushfires is a fact of life here in the ACT," he said.
Meanwhile, the Canberra Liberals will move a motion this week in the ACT Legislative Assembly calling on the government to enact a federal disaster relief agreement, which would would give businesses affected by the summer's weather events access to concessional loans.
But Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the process to trigger the agreement had been in train for weeks.
Mr Barr said states and territories had to spend a certain amount of money on an emergency response before it could tap into funds under the long-standing federal scheme. He believed the spending threshold - about $8 million - had now been reached, meaning the money would start flowing soon.
The opposition's motion also calls for an increase in funding for VisitCanberra to help boost tourism. But Mr Barr said the government's marketing agency was already rolling out a campaign to entice locals and visitors to spend money in the nation's capital.
The #holidayhereCBR campaign has the backing of Canberra tennis star Nick Kyrgios. The third plank of the opposition's proposal calls for the government to allow businesses to defer commercial rates and payroll tax payments.
Mr Barr said people experiencing "financial hardship" could already defer payments or enter payment plans. It was unclear if those whose businesses had been affected by the summer's events would qualify.