Stories of trauma, frightened children and dark days as flames raged around the country have paved the way for a more robust Australian bushfire strategy.
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Better firefighting capability, including a sovereign aerial fleet, streamlined responses and funding arrangements, and new early fire detection and suppression technology form the basis of 16 recommendations made by a Senate committee.
Those who had lost houses were consistently re-traumatised applying for different grants and help, which led to calls for a central, secure portal people can use so they only need to upload their information and story once.
The removal of barriers preventing access to insurance for people in bushfire-prone regions, along with more investment in prevention and better resilience measures were also flagged.
Labor senator and committee chair Tim Ayres said all the stories he heard had a similar thread.
"We weren't prepared, and we should have been. The warnings were ignored or downplayed," he told the Senate.
"The death toll would have been lower, and property losses would have been less.
"As a country that will suffer the worst impacts of climate change we need to lift our game to keep people safe."
Australian Associated Press
