The Rockliff Liberal Government stands ready to support the town of Rosebery as our emergency service crews continue to work to contain the nearby bushfire which began on Tuesday.
In Rosebery today, Premier Jeremy Rockliff thanked the more than 40 firefighters who worked so hard in challenging conditions to limit the damage of the fire and to ensure everyone in Rosebery was safe.
"There has been significant property damage - we have lost the Mount Black Lodge, a building that held sentimental value for many Rosebery residents," he said.
"My department has been in contact with the owner and we are exploring options to provide recovery support.
"We also arranged emergency accommodation for tourists who were booked to stay at the Mount Black Lodge last night, and MMG has been able to arrange alternative accommodation for their employees.
"Tasmanians need to be vigilant and prepared for bushfires - we have other fires across the State right now that firefighters are monitoring and responding to, and I want to remind everyone that they should regularly keep up to date with the TasALERT website to check incidents near them."
Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management, Felix Ellis, said his heart went out to all residents of Rosebery who will feel the impact of the fire.
"We have a long summer ahead of us and I want all Tasmanians to be prepared in the event a bushfire starts near them," he said.
"Having a bushfire plan for your home is critical to ensure you and your family are prepared for these events – what we saw yesterday was a reminder about how quickly fire can impact our communities.
"Today is another example of high fire danger, high temperatures as part of this heatwave, and damaging wind gusts that easily spread bushfires."
Minister Ellis said with increased frequency of emergency events, we need to make sure our emergency services have the resources they need to keep us safe.
"The funding model that we currently have for our fire and emergency services is not fit for purpose and we are going to reform this," he said.
"What I want to say is that our Government will do everything we can to ensure that our fire and emergency services are supported with the equipment and funding that they need, because investing in our emergency services and people who are trained in rapid response is the only way that we can keep communities safe from natural disasters.
"We are listening to our emergency services to understand what they need most to keep us safe."
For bushfire warning updates, visit TasALERT for the latest details.
