Waverley staff on bushfire standby

Waverley Council have committed to help sister councils hit by the bushfire crisis in a bid to provide support for affected areas.

Mayor Sally Betts has offered help to Wingecarribee Shire Council in Bowral, 121 kilometres from Bondi Beach, after talks with its Mayor Juliet Arkwright.

Ms Betts also spoke to Kim Edwards, local controller from the Waverley/Woollahra State Emergency Service, and offered Council assistance.

“It’s the right thing to do,” said Ms Betts. “We’ve left it quite open because we’re not 100 per cent sure what kind of help they need, but they did lose a lot of houses and there will be quite a lot of roads and parks that are going to need help getting back to some kind of order.”

In a mayoral minute passed unanimously on October 22, Council resolved to provide clean-up assistance to Wingecarribee following the bushfire emergency “in the most practical form” agreed between the general managers of Waverley and Wingecarribee, in liaison with emergency services.

“We will ask for some volunteers from our staff, then we’ll go down and help them, so it may be cutting down dead trees by our park staff, [or] it could be our garbage collectors to clear the roads,” said Ms Betts.

“I just think this is the Aussie spirit. We do, in times of crisis, put up our hand and help our neighbours and I don’t believe anybody would begrudge [us].”

However, Councillor John Wakefield advocated for a different approach, arguing Waverley should opt for cash contributions to those affected by the bushfires.

“If there was need for financial contributions, which I’m sure there are, I’d be happy to support [them as] such,’’ Mr Wakefield said. “All councils need to stick together in these times of crisis.”

Mr Wakefield said it would be “very regrettable” for any politician to use bushfires for political gain. However, when asked about the relationship between bushfires and climate change, Mr Wakefield said he would listen to the opinion of scientists who say there could be a link.

“The likes of Tony Abbott are not countering those arguments with better arguments, they’re just saying they are wrong,” he said.

Waverley Councillor Dominic Wy Kanak said Waverley’s ratepayers “have shown themselves to be generous of heart”, when asked whether Council should be offering support to those in crisis.

“We have agreed to send volunteer workers with waste compactor trucks to assist in the clean-up,” he said.

Mr Wy Kanak said some politicians see thanking the efforts of bush firefighters as expressing the sentiments of their constituents.

“Wingecaribee Yamanda Aboriginal Association Incorporated would like bushfire prevention method planners to consult with the Aboriginal community about traditional ways of burning off undergrowth that prevented major bushfires, so I will suggest this [to] be included in the Greens Bushfire Prevention Policy,” he said.