JACINTA ALLAN, PREMIER OF VICTORIA: Well, good morning. I'm really pleased to welcome everyone here to the Bendigo Incident Control Centre here in Epsom. And I'm pleased to welcome everyone here as both the local Member for Bendigo East and I'm joined by my other local member colleagues, the Member of Bendigo West, Maree Edwards, and the Federal Member for Bendigo, Lisa Chesters. And we're really proud local representatives of this great community. And we're really pleased to have the Prime Minister here today in Bendigo getting briefed at the Incident Control Centre. And then shortly we'll also be travelling to the Harcourt community. Thank you, Prime Minister, for prioritising Victoria and the Harcourt community that has been so badly affected by the fires. And I'll come to the fire activity in a moment that continues to be in the landscape across Victoria. I'd also like to acknowledge Ministerial colleagues, Vicki Ward, and Federal Minister, Kristy McBain, and thank their work on working together on the package that the Prime Minister and I will shortly be announcing of initial support. I'd also like to acknowledge, and we'll hear shortly from Tim Wiebusch, the Emergency Management Commissioner. Tim will provide the greater detail on the active fires, the 32 active fires that are continuing across the State today. Also, too, I'd like to acknowledge Mick Masters, the Incident Control Centre Controller here at the Bendigo ICC, and thank Mick and the teams that we've just met with who have worked around the clock since we've had this difficult fire in the landscape here in central Victoria emerge on Friday afternoon. And also on that front, I'd like to acknowledge Toby Heydon, the Mayor of Mount Alexander Shire, which represents that strong and beautiful community of Harcourt. And then finally too, we have Brett Hosking here, who's the President of the VFF. And I want to thank Brett and the VFF for working closely with our teams in AgVic, because we have not just seen impact on property and structures as a result of these fires across the state, there's also been impact to so many of our primary producing areas: loss of fences, livestock impacts and primary producing impacts as well. So, just firstly, in terms of the situation here this morning in Victoria, as I said, we continue to have 32 active fires across the State, but particularly of concern are the 10 major fire grounds that are continuing to have enormous resources deployed to managing those fires. These 10 major fires - to give you a sense of the ongoing danger that is presented by these fires, there are currently 15 emergency warnings that have been issued, in terms of advising people to leave their local communities. And then there's a further 17 watch and act notifications that are underway right now. And if I, at the outset can again ask Victorians, if you are told to leave by the emergency services, if you are told to leave, do so. Because we know that is not only the best way to protect and save lives. It also supports the work of our emergency services who are out there on the ground as well. And I do want to thank Victorians who we know have been following that advice and given the scale of the fires that are in the landscape today, we need Victorians to continue to follow that advice. Please stay tuned to local radio. Keep your Vic emergency app close to get the latest updates of information, because that is the best way to be able to protect yourselves and support the work of our firefighters. From across a number of the fires, there has been a focus on containment and we're seeing that around the work at Natimuk here at Harcourt. And to give you a sense of the enormous work that's been done in just a 24-hour period, the Harcourt fire ground is around 80% contained, which is just a remarkable effort, given this time yesterday, it was a very hot and active fire. So it gives you a sense of the huge resources that are being deployed on the fires right across the State. But we do have ongoing concerns around the fires in the Northeast. The Longwood fire and the Walwa Mt Lawson fire continue to be very large and difficult fires. Those parts of the State are experiencing warmer, windy conditions again today. So, again, please stay tuned to your local conditions because those fires continue to present some great challenges in the northeast and then also too in East Gippsland. There are major fires underway there as well. But also too, of concern, overnight has been the significance of the fires in the Otways. Two fires in the Otways, Cape Otway and at Mt Carlisle that have come as a result of changed weather and dry lightning that has created these new fires in the southwest of the state. And huge resources are being deployed. On that matter of resources, we again have thousands of firefighters on the ground. 70 plus aircraft working on these fires, working around the clock to get these fires under control. We've already seen 350,000 hectares of the state burnt out. That number will increase as we continue to see these fires continue. So, we will see fires continue for some time across the state. And again, that is why we are not through the worst of this by a long way. There are fires that are continuing right now that are threatening homes and property and I ask Victorians to please stay mindful of local conditions. Also too, if roads are closed, if you are being advised not to go into certain areas, it's because it is not safe to do so. And so I also ask people to not - if you don't need to travel into these areas, if you do not - if you are not a local resident, please obey the rules and do not go into areas, because it's simply not safe to do so. The teams are working incredibly hard to get road access re-opened where it's safe to do so and are working with those local communities. For everyone else, please let these communities work through their local challenges and please do not enter into these areas and we have the State Of Disaster powers to enforce these requirements and the movement of people around these dangerous fire areas.
I want to thank the Prime Minister for not just being here today, it's really important to have the Prime Minister briefed on the fire situation here in Victoria, but also for working with us on the initial package that the Prime Minister and I are announcing today. It's a package of $19.5 million of immediate support. And I make that point that this is for immediate support and the package has been shaped by what we've been hearing on the ground over the last couple of days. And it's why it focuses on the personal hardship payments, emergency accommodation and also to support for livestock as well. The Prime Minister will announce the further details. But thank you, PM, for providing this support. And I do also make the point that as we consider the recovery journey ahead, I say very clearly to the affected communities, we will continue to stand with you and support you on the recovery journey ahead. It's going to be a long one, particularly for those communities that have lost a lot of property. And so we will continue to support you on the journey ahead. Today's announcement is in response to what we've been hearing is the immediate relief and response need that is required from governments right now.
As I hand over to the Prime Minister, I mentioned earlier, we'll be going into the Harcourt community later on today. The Harcourt community has been so badly affected. It's a small community, a beautiful community. It’s known for its apple growing, its beautiful produce, its beautiful landscape that's just been ravaged by these terrible fires. And so for Maree, and for Lisa and I, it will be, we stand as local members to support our local communities. My kids went to kinder in Harcourt, so I feel a real deep attachment to this beautiful community. And it is a representation of communities across the state that are doing it tough. And I want to thank Victorians who have given just so generously already, support and thank them for every way that communities have come together to support one another. But it is another opportunity to remind everyone that today is another difficult day for fire in the landscape in many parts of Victoria. It continues to be warm, it continues to be windy, and there are already existing fires, which is why today is a day of total fire ban across the state. So, please do continue to follow the advice, follow the warnings, support our emergency services. That's the best way you can support them, because we know it supports them and also saves lives. I'll now hand over to the Prime Minister. Thank you.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you so much to the Premier of Victoria. Jacinta and I have been in almost hourly contact over recent days, and as well, Lisa Chesters, the Federal member here, has been engaged as well, constantly with myself and with Kristy McBain, who's been on the ground here as the Minister now for two days. And the opportunity to be briefed here at the Bendigo Centre has been important. To say thank you to those extraordinary workers, emergency management, police, fire volunteers who've come in here and are making a difference for their fellow Victorians as well. But also a shout out to those people who are travelling, who've come from New South Wales, who've come from different areas, volunteers who come to help their fellow Australians at a time of need. I always say that at the worst of times, we see the best of the Australian character, and we're seeing that right here in Victoria at the moment. And I also thank those people from the National Emergency Management Agency who've been here on the ground, the National Aerial Firefighting Fleet that we established, making a difference, meaning that action can be done quicker than it was a number of years ago because of those resources, because of the coordination, and because of the planning that goes into events. There was a national planning mechanism where we brought together all emergency management services in Canberra once again to go through these, war game effectively, what would happen when there were incidents. And today, tragically, there are multiple incidents that are very varied - the opposite indeed. The last time I was here at this centre we were dealing with floods. Now here we're dealing with fires. But in Far North Queensland they're dealing with the consequences of flooding and a cyclone event that I'll talk about as well. So here, I think the remarkable stories of people following advice that we've heard, neighbours helping neighbours, people really working with the best of intention with each other as well. My message to Victorians is pretty simple - we've got your back. Not just during this crisis, but through the recovery as well. And we'll work cooperatively with the Allan Government to make sure we deliver what is necessary so that people and communities can get back on their feet after what has been a very difficult period. Yesterday, the federal government expanded our support for disaster recovery funding arrangements through the now 18 local government areas and the Alpine Resort have access to this funding. It provides for individual one-off assistant payments, personal and financial counselling, removal of debris, and ongoing support for state agencies and local councils for counter-disaster operations and restoration of essential public assets. We have our National Aerial Firefighting Fleet on the ground with - or in the air - most importantly is operational with assets deployed here in Victoria supporting the firefighting effort. Our Australian Defence Force is providing support, whether that be accommodation or through catering and access to staging areas. And the Australian Defence Force stand ready to provide further assistance, led of course by another great Victorian, my deputy, Richard Marles. Today we expand our support in partnership with the Victorian Government with an additional jointly funded package for emergency fodder support for primary producers. Based on the initial assessment and impacts of the bushfires, it's estimated that thousands of head of cattle are likely to have been impacted and in need of urgent attention and care. This package of funding will assist primary producers with the extraordinary costs of undertaking immediate and emergency livestock fodder distribution to ensure the humane treatment of stranded livestock - and it's great that we had the VFF with us here today. In addition to that, we've activated the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment for those who've been, communities worst impacted. This is a one-off immediate payment of $1000 per eligible adult and $400 per child who've been severely affected. It's available for people who've been seriously injured or who have lost their homes or whose homes have been directly damaged and to check eligibility is available through the Services Australia website.
While I am here in Victoria, I do want to say that our thoughts are also with our northern neighbours there in Queensland. The Tropical Cyclone Koji that was declared a cyclone at five o'clock yesterday, crossed the coast between Eyre and Bowen just a short time ago this morning. This system is expected to bring large amounts of rainfall to coastal areas of North Queensland and potentially inland areas as well. Dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding is a major risk along a significant stretch of Queensland's coast. The situation is dynamic and likely to change regularly, so people should actively monitor local emergency services and the Bureau of Meteorology for updates. Once again, the Federal Government stands ready to assist the Queensland Government, local governments and the people of Queensland during and importantly in the aftermath of the event. I spoke with Premier Crisafulli and Premier Minns of course yesterday as well, and we stand with Queenslanders at this difficult time as well. One of the things that occurs in this great country is that governments come together, Commonwealth, State and Local. We work cooperatively in the interests of our citizens and we'll do that here in Victoria. But we'll also do that wherever these weather events are having such a devastating impact on individuals, on families, and on local communities as well.
KRISTY MCBAIN, MINISTER FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Thank you, Prime Minister. Can I start today by acknowledging the emergency service workers all over our country who are at the moment doing an amazing job. Whether that's through bushfires, through heat waves, through tropical cyclones or flooding rains, each and every community owes you a debt of gratitude that we'll never be able to repay, but we all acknowledge the amazing work you're doing, leaving your own families to protect others in the community. As the Prime Minister said, whilst bushfire conditions are improving here in Victoria, the situation isn't over yet. There are multiple dangerous fires burning, so please heed the advice of emergency services. Likewise, conditions in South Australia, New South Wales and the ACT are still precarious, so please make sure you are tuned to emergency channels to make sure that you get the latest updates. The Prime Minister has outlined a range of support packages we have in place now for Victoria. And as the Premier and the Prime Minister said, this event is far from over and we know recovery is not a straight line. So, we will be here working with Victorians and the three levels of government will come together to assist where we can over the coming weeks and months. But as we move to Queensland, Tropical Cyclone Koji has made landfall between Eyre and Bowen. There will be significant impacts along the coast. There's already been monsoonal floods in North-West Queensland already, so that situation is developing. There are multiple flood warnings across the state. The situation is quite dynamic, so please heed the advice of our emergency services. I've been in contact with my state counterpart there, as well as the Queensland Premier and just like today, there are some additional packages available for North-West Queensland. So, I just wanted to reiterate that. Today I can announce further support for impacted community members. The Disaster Recovery Allowance payment will be eligible for people across 11 local government areas in Queensland. Disaster Recovery Allowance is to support people who have lost income as a direct result of the event by providing up to 13 weeks income support for sole traders, for workers, all depending on their personal circumstances. Eligibility can be checked on the Services Australia website and these supports are on top of the assistance measures already funded through our Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements which help small businesses, primary producers and councils. In particular our $75,000 primary producer grants, $11.5 million for critical repairs at Cloncurry Airport, our $7 million emergency fodder package there, personal hardship payments and a range of disaster assistance loans. Again, I want to stress, we know recovery is not a straight line and the Albanese Government stands ready to work with each state and territory following a range of disaster events that are occurring and we'll work constructively through the three levels of government to make sure that no community is left behind when it comes to recovery.
TIM WIEBUSCH, VICTORIAN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMISSIONER: Good morning everybody. Tim Wiebusch, Emergency Management Commissioner. Fortunately, today we're starting to see some of our conditions ease from a weather perspective here in Victoria and that will mean our firefighters are able to start getting on top of some of the fires that we still have in our landscape. However, we still have 10 major fires that are causing concern right across various parts of Victoria and that's why a total fire ban remains in place for the whole of the state of Victoria. Disappointingly, in the last 24 hours we've started to see some tourism or spectators heading into some of our fire impacted zones. I can't emphasise enough. The state of disaster is now in place for 18 local government areas and where those fire impact zones appear on the VIC Emergency website, they are the areas that we do not expect to see visitors, we only expect to see locals if it is safe to be in there at all. So, please do not enter those fire impacted zones. Stay well away from them until they are safe. We have 15 emergency warnings and 17 watch and act warnings that are still in place. That means there is still risk for community right now in our landscape. But I guess in good news, we are starting to get on top of some of these fires. We do expect by the end of Monday that the Streatham fire, the Natimuk fire and the Mount Mercer fire will be contained. Importantly contained means we've got a fence around it and the fire is not expected to spread and continue to cause further damage. It does not mean those fires are out. However, at the Yarrowee fire in the state's north, overnight, firefighters have got on top of that fire and that fire is now contained and the community can start moving back in and around that area. However, we still have some very significant fires in the landscape. The Longwood fire, the Ravenswood fire, the Mount Lawson fire, the Walwa fire, which is part of that same complex. And now also a complex of fires in the Snowy River Catchment in Far East Gippsland, and also two fires in the Otway Ranges, one at Kennedy river and one at Carlisle River. Again, we need people, as the Premier has already mentioned, to heed the warnings of our emergency services over these coming days. And that is why the statewide total fire ban also remains in place. I now want to update you on losses as we best know them at this time. Obviously, impact assessments are still occurring as areas of these fires become safe for our teams to be able to move into. At the Mount Mercer fire, which again, as I said, we expect to have contained by tomorrow, we have had one house and approximately 12 sheds that have been lost. At the Walwa fire, that's still impacting on a pine plantation there and that continues to grow. But fortunately we've not had any further losses there. At Natimuk, sadly, we now know that we've got 30 houses and 40 sheds that have been lost as a result of that fire. Here at Ravenswood or Harcourt, we now know that there are 47 homes and three businesses that have been lost as a result of these tragic fires. But in good news, we are able to get contractors back onto Mount Alexandra today to start restoring the communication towers. But of the most significant impact is the Longwood fire we now have in the vicinity of just over 150 structures that have been lost in that fire. So, that means across those that we announced yesterday and those that I've just mentioned this morning, we now have over 300 structures that have been lost across Victoria. And our thoughts and hearts go out to all of those communities that have been impacted by fire, not just where we've lost structures, but also where there are agricultural impacts and other losses as well. Agriculture Victoria is starting to work very closely with primary producers in each of the fire scars to understand those impacts so that we can understand what further we can do to support those communities. In terms of the fires that are starting to be contained, we're moving in and making sure that the hazardous trees are being removed. And you'll start to see quite a ramp up on some of the other larger fires with some of our forestry harvesting contractors coming in to support our emergency services to remove the large timber and get roads open and get communities back in. In closing, our relief centres, there is 13 of them that are still open across the state of Victoria this morning, including Bendigo and Kyneton here for the Ravenswood and Harcourt fire. They are places where people can go and get information about what supports are available. And we also have the likes of Red Cross and the Victorian Council of Churches that are providing some psychosocial supports into those community and counselling as needed. I'll now pass back to the Premier.
PREMIER ALLAN: Thank you, Tim. All of us are available to take questions either on the state-wide situation, the nation-wide situation, and also representatives from the local community and local members and the mayor to particularly talk about Harcourt if there's questions on that front. So, we'll open it up.
JOURNALIST: Can I just ask, do you have any estimate of the total area of Victoria that’s been burned by the fires?
PREMIER ALLAN: Yeah, Tim might have a, my number was, as at 8 o'clock this morning, 350,000. Yes. So, at least at the moment it's 350,000 hectares has been burnt out across the state. And as you can see from the significant fires that are still underway, that is a number that will only increase. And if I can use this as an opportunity to also reiterate that point, that a number of these large fires, the complex fires, they will run for a number of weeks, particularly in the North East and in Gippsland. So, that will be a number that will increase.
JOURNALIST: I know you said yesterday the numbers of property losses were conservative. Is that still the case or do you think you've managed to get a lot of assessments done?
COMMISSIONER WIEBUSCH: Yes, look, the loss and damage assessment will continue for some days at this point in time. If I just give you one example with the Longwood fire. That fire has a perimeter of over 400 kilometres with active fire still very much in that landscape. So, there are some areas that we've been able to get into and undertake damage assessments, but there are other areas that are still far too dangerous, and that remains the case for a number of fires across the state at this time.
JOURNALIST: At this point, are we talking weeks before we probably get a clear picture?
COMMISSIONER WIEBUSCH: I think within the next fortnight we'll have a much clearer picture, particularly in the coming days for some of those fires that I've mentioned we hope to have contained.
JOURNALIST: How are the crews holding up? It's pretty intense out there between the last few days in Longwood. How are they holding up?
COMMISSIONER WIEBUSCH: Look, the feedback we're getting from our crews in the field has been really positive around morale. The teams feel like they've been able to achieve some fantastic saves. If you look at what's occurred here with the Ravenswood Harcourt fire, sadly, yes, we have lost 47 homes and three businesses, but they've saved so many more and in particular in the main street of Harcourt itself, and that's the sort of thing that will help communities rebuild over time, is having those central cores. And we've seen great saves right across the state. While we're talking about 10 major fires, we've had hundreds of fires in Victoria over the last three days where there's been some amazing effort by our Forest Fire Management firefighters, by CFA volunteers, by Fire Rescue Victoria, but also our interstate colleagues from New South Wales Fire and Rescue, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, the Country Fire Service of South Australia, and we've now got some Queensland IMT in Victoria as well.
JOURNALIST: Do you know how many altogether are active at one stage in terms of responders? Do you have a rough estimate of numbers?
COMMISSIONER WIEBUSCH: Yeah, look, on the peak on Friday, we think we had over 15,000 responders in the field and those numbers are still being firmed up. And even today there are thousands of firefighters that are out in the field responding to these fires both day and night, along with our aviation crews that are in the air. We had night fire-bombing occurring last night on the Otway fires, so we're throwing everything at it to try and contain these fires.
JOURNALIST: Are you confident there hasn't been any other lives lost or any other injuries form these fires?
COMMISSIONER WIEBUSCH: Look, I spoke with the Chief Commissioner of Police again this morning and at this stage, whilst they're continuing to get individual reports from time to time of welfare checks and other things, there are at this point in time no confirmed lives lost as a result of these fires.
JOURNALIST: Can you tell us a little bit about that night firebombing in the Otway fire and what that was able to achieve?
COMMISSIONER WIEBUSCH: Yeah, look, we've had a night firebombing capability here in Victoria for a number of years now and it's proved to be highly successful in being able to help firefighters contain fires during perhaps some of the calmer periods of the weather, which is typically overnight. However, as we saw on Friday and even Thursday, Thursday night, Friday night, we had amazing weather conditions where that wasn't possible. But right now we're able to get out and start firebombing in some of those areas. So, last night in the Otways, the two fires around Kennedy and Carlisle river, they were firebombing the hot spots so that we're starting to give the crews on the ground every chance to contain those fires.
JOURNALIST: And just on that Otways fire, are you expecting the conditions to change there this afternoon? Is it right that there's a wind front coming through and what kind of challenges can we expect?
COMMISSIONER WIEBUSCH: Yeah look, I think the weather conditions, whilst they have eased across all parts of the state, even the mildest of winds for these very large fires will still cause concern. So, the Otway fires, those coastal breezes, even 25-30 kilometres an hour is enough to keep pushing those fires along. Or in the north of the state around the Walwa fire and the Longwood fire, just the sheer size of the perimeter of those fires means that even average winds are causing concern.
JOURNALIST: You mentioned fire tourists, which might be a question for the Premier as well. What fire grounds are they showing up to? What can be done to stop them?
COMMISSIONER WIEBUSCH: Look, as I said before, with the support of the Premier, the state of disaster is now in place in those 18 local government areas. And our clear message is in the fire impacted zones these are not places for visitors, spectators, tourists. These are places for our emergency services and when safe, to do so, local residents. We have seen people trying to get in and around the Longwood fire and I can tell you our colleagues at Victoria Police will take that very seriously.
JOURNALIST: Just on the Longwood fire, do you have any more details about a number of people that were found alive after sheltering in a container?
COMMISSIONER WIEBUSCH: Yes, yesterday, as the Chief Commissioner of Police identified, we had some people that had taken shelter in a shipping container during the heat of that fire at Longwood and incredibly, that has managed to save their lives. And I don't have any more specifics about how they are at this point in time.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, can I ask you a couple of questions. Maybe just on the funding side of things, I was in Londwood the last couple of days, I talked to some people and they said government hadn't learned from Black Saturday relief. Maybe if you could touch on how people access this funding, if that's in response to Black Saturday.
PREMIER ALLAN: Yeah, that is perhaps a question for me, because in terms of, as we operationalise the arrangement. So, the question was about how we're delivering the support?
JOURNALIST: Yeah, people were saying maybe government hadn't learned from Black Saturday and how is this funding different?
PREMIER ALLAN: So, there has been huge learnings from every emergency incident and particularly I remember well those Black Saturday fires in 2009 and Friday's heat and wind conditions were so reminiscent of that really difficult day in Victoria. And so the work that has been done over the years since has been to really significantly integrate the coordination between all of the different agencies, which is why you see here at the Incident Control Centre, at the State Control Centre, incredible coordination that supports that huge number of 15,000 people that were out on fire grounds on that very difficult day on Friday. But we also know too that we have to support people who have been deeply impacted and traumatised by these emergency events, which is why yesterday, Saturday morning, we had immediately activated, sorry, Friday, we'd immediately activated the personal hardship payments for those four local government areas around the Longwood fire. Strathbogie, Murrindindi, Mansfield Shires had receiving, and Mitchell Shire were all eligible from Friday. And as at yesterday, those hardship payments were being made across all fire affected communities. And in terms of one of the outcomes, the reason why we could move so quickly was because of the incredible coordination between Federal and State governments, Ministers and agencies. Also too, the relief centres are such an important place where people can get that coordinated support from. Not just the personal hardship payments, but a meal, a bed, counselling, mental health and counselling support, A place to take your animals, if you've got animals that you're concerned about. So they're really important places to provide support. And then also too if I can emphasise again, the announcements that the Prime Minister and I have made today are in response to the immediate need. There is going to be more need here. And one of the challenges we have, particularly with the Longwood fire, is we know property has been lost, we know structures have been impacted and as we get in, we can only get in to do the assessments when it's safe to do so. And so that's why whether it's working with the VFF on supporting primary producers, working with local councils, we're working around the clock to get back in and do those assessments to provide that support to those communities.
PRIME MINISTER: One of the improvements that's been made is the existence of the National Emergency Management Agency. It did not exist previously. So having a dedicated agency with a headquarters in Canberra, where I was able to be briefed yesterday following travelling to North-West Queensland during the week as well, where I visited Mount Isa and Cloncurry and spoke directly to those communities - after this we'll go directly to Harcourt. But having that national headquarters coordinating between the Commonwealth and State governments has made an enormous difference with the way that we can roll out support. So, there are a NEMA people here identified by their shirts as well, on the ground here in this centre, meaning that you don't have to just coordinate and send an email. There's someone here on the ground. So, I've received two lots now of requests from the Premier. The request that we announced today was received just yesterday afternoon. We processed that, we approved it through finance, through all of that, I signed off literally first thing this morning after approval from the Minister as well. So, I think in terms of the way that things are operating, and this applies just as well to Queensland at the moment as well, right across the board, I think that has been a major improvement.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minster, what is the cost of these twin weather events that we’re confronted with?
PRIME MINISTER: This is well before we're able to put in a cost. What we're doing at the moment is where immediate need is there, providing that support, that immediate support - $1000 payments, $400 payments for every child, emergency fodder support for the agricultural sector, that immediate support which is there. But this is initial support. We will provide what is necessary. We'll work with state and territory governments and we'll work cooperatively as well.
JOURNALIST: Is Australia now spending more on weather events?
PRIME MINISTER: Of course we are, because there are more extreme weather events and they're more intense. And the fact that we have at one time floods in one area, fires in another and heat waves that do cause other issues as well, means there is a cost of the changing weather patterns that we are seeing.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, have you made any requests for international support?
PRIME MINISTER: We, at times like this, we receive support and there is engagement at the moment with our friends from Canada and the United States. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Premier, there are concerns that wire barriers along the Hume make vegetation management much more difficult. What do you -
PREMIER ALLAN: Look, I don't have advice on that matter. We can come back to you, Rachel, with further advice. The wire rope barriers exist on our freeways across Victoria because They're also a proven way of saving lives and reducing the road toll. In terms of the management of the road size, we can come back to you through VicRoads.
JOURNALIST: The Mansfield Shire mayor also claims the state has left his region underprepared by ignoring requests for a dedicated emergency services precinct. Are you across that?
PREMIER ALLAN: Who's the Mansfield Shire Mayor?
JOURNALIST: Steve Rabie.
PREMIER ALLAN: No, I've not had that conversation with the Mayor. I met with a number of mayors yesterday. I don't think I met with Steve yesterday over at the Seymour Relief Centre. I do want to emphasise, though, because I know there's been some commentary on this front. Our emergency services were incredibly well-prepared for this fire season and they are incredibly well-prepared for this fire season because they prepare, when there's not a fire season for these very emergencies. The huge amount of work preparation, training and coordination that goes into being ready for these events and when the events, the incidents and the emergencies happen, we see the results of that work and the way that communities are supported and lives are protected. And we have also been backing that work with increased funding to our emergency services to provide them, not with the support, the technology. The technology that drives the information that comes as a local resident, on Friday night, my VIC Emergency app was constantly being up to with evacuation warnings and alerts and that technology is being driven by that additional investment and the coordination that goes on from the state control centre. So, we'll continue to ensure that not just our emergency services are ready, they have the funding that they need to support our communities.
JOURNALIST: Premier, how is your own home? Have you been able to get back in there?
PREMIER ALLAN: I haven't been home since Friday. Our community was given an evacuation warning on Friday. But can I again emphasise the importance of having a fire plan. Our fire plan in our household on a catastrophic day is not to be there and we weren't. I'm hoping to pop home this afternoon to check on things. I haven't been home and I really do understand just how hard it is to get that message to leave your home because the fire threat is far too close and far too dangerous. It is a sickening feeling. We're blessed our home's okay. So, many homes in the region are okay because of the work of the fire services. And my heart breaks for those people, I met some yesterday over at Seymour, a woman who showed me a photo of her home that was destroyed in the Longwood fire. And that's just heartbreaking to see. And that is why the announcements today come with that commitment of the support on the journey ahead, that we will work with those families and communities that are affected because it is devastating to see the loss of property and the stock losses as well. I know many communities are hurting.
JOURNALIST: Premier, do you have a message for the fire tourists the Commissioner mentioned?
PREMIER ALLAN: I'll be as fit for broadcast as I possibly can be. Stay away. Stay away. Our emergency services are working in the most extreme and difficult set of circumstances. There are fires still in these landscapes. There are trees that are falling as a result of these fires. It is not safe and it is wrong. It is wrong to go into these fire grounds where it is unsafe and you don't belong there and you will be dealt with by Victoria Police. It's one of the key reasons behind the recommendation to me as Premier to declare a state of disaster. It is to give police the powers to stop people who do not belong there, who do not have a property in the area to not enter these dangerous fire areas.
JOURNALIST: I know you mentioned yesterday the January 18th forecast, I believe. Are you expecting, what are you expecting, I guess, out of that day and if the preparations are underway already for that?
COMMISSIONER WIEBUSCH: Look, as we get into the heart of the summer season, we're going to see, I guess, these rise and falls in weather that will impact fire. We are in that period where conditions have eased just at the moment and so we will see a spike in fire conditions again within sort of a seven to ten day cycle. So, we are expecting later in the weekend, early into next week, that conditions will increase. But obviously, as you'd appreciate, forecasting out to that sort of range is still to be firmed up. But the Bureau does advise us that where we might see fire weather conditions increase again is the latter part of the weekend into early next week.
JOURNALIST: You said 300 structures destroyed in this. When you get back in, are you expecting that number to jump significantly?
COMMISSIONER WIEBUSCH: Look, as I mentioned earlier, impact assessments are continuing on a daily basis as areas of these fires become safe to enter. We are expecting that number to grow and it will take us several days, if not weeks yet to complete that task. Thanks, everyone.