The Australian government announced a powerful inquiry on Thursday in response to the recent extreme bushfires season.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the scale of what he called the “Black Summer” of bush fires in the past months’ presented new challenges for all levels of government, which required a detailed national inquiry.
The Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, also called the “Bushfires Royal Commission,” will examine preparedness for, response to, and recovery from such disasters, Morrison said.
Royal commissions are convened in Australia on issues of special public importance and have extensive investigative powers.
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“The inquiry acknowledges climate change, the broader impact of our summers getting longer, drier and hotter and is focussed on practical action that has a direct link to making Australians safer,” said Morrison.
In Australia, natural disasters are mostly handled by state-level governments, but the inquiry will consider the legal framework for the federal government’s involvement in responding to such emergencies.
Former Defence Force chief Mark Binskin will lead the commission.
The royal commission has been asked to present an interim report with recommendations by the end of August, ahead of the next bush fire season, which normally starts in December.
But this year, large bush fires started in September and burned more than 12 million hectares of land across south and east of Australia.
Thirteen people were said to have died and more than 3,000 homes were destroyed.