Pinery fire recovery newsletter
Issue 19 | September 26, 2016
In this issue
Pinery reviews released ..........................1
Funding for community projects ..............1
Keeping your property secure .................2
Support from the Freeling Hub ................2
SAFECOM releases Pinery review .........3
Smart State PC Donation Program .........3
Stay connected .......................................3
Horse SA wins national award ................4
Permapine posts.....................................4
Recovery structure .................................4
Pet and horse owner survey ...................6
View the Pinery recovery plan ................6
$10,000 for primary producers ................6
Pinery anthology now available ..............7
Events ....................................................7
Contact information ................................8
Pinery reviews released
In this issue, the Minister for Emergency
Services, Peter Malinauskas has a message
on page three on the independent reviews
commissioned by the government into the
response to the Pinery fire. Included in the
message is a commitment
to address a number of
important issues that
arose from the reviews.
I encourage you to take
the time to read the
reviews by visiting the link
provided in his message.
Funding for community projects
The State Emergency Relief Fund (SERF)
Committee has completed the distribution of
over $2 million in Pinery Fire Appeal donations
to people affected by the Pinery fire.
The SERF Committee is now offering one-off
payments of up to $5,000 to community groups
and organisations to provide the communities
affected by the Pinery fire with medium-to-long
term recovery support and assistance.
The Community Strength and Resilience
Initiative offers gift payments for community
development projects that respond to an
identified, local need and help build more
inclusive, engaged and safer communities.
Applications to the State Emergency Relief
Fund Committee close on 31 October 2016.
The application form and guidelines can be
downloaded from
www.sa.gov.au/emergencies/pineryfire.
Alternatively, phone the SERF Executive
Officer on (08) 8463 6405 or email
DCSI.StateEmergencyReliefFundApplications
@sa.gov.au.
You can also contact the Wakefield, Mallala,
Light or Clare and Gilbert Valleys Councils or
the Pinery Fire Community Development
Officer on 0477 717 736 or email
[email protected].
Alex Zimmermann
Local Recovery Coordinator
Pinery fire recovery newsletter | Issue 19 | 26 September 2016
1
Keeping your property secure
Support from the Freeling Hub
South Australia Police (SAPOL) is committed
to working in partnership with the community to
prevent crime and reduce the fear of crime.
The Freeling Hub, a division of the Gawler
Community House Incorporated, understands
that recovery is a group effort. The hub hosts a
range of support groups to help bring people
together. If you have an interest in any of the
following groups, you are warmly encouraged
to come along.
Rural properties can be vulnerable to crime as
their isolation affords thieves greater
opportunity to offend.
Crime can be reduced by being alert to
suspicious activity and increasing basic
security in the following ways:

Make sure your rural property address
(RPA) number and property name is
prominently displayed at the front of your
property.

Keep all fences and gates in good repair
and keep all paddock, sheds and stockyard
gates closed and secure at all times.

Use good quality chains and padlocks to
secure entrances to sheds, garages and
other storage facilities.

Secure all tools, equipment and machinery
when not in use.

Ensure appropriate keyed locks are fitted
to all doors and windows of your home.

Encourage neighbours to report suspicious
activity.
If you, or your neighbours see anything
suspicious, call police immediately on 131 444.
All sessions are held at the Freeling Hub,
located at Shop 3/6 Hanson Street, Freeling.
For more information, and to register for any of
these sessions, phone 0428 233 894.
Gardening group
If you have a passion for gardening and would
like to learn more, or share your ideas and tips
with like-minded people, come along to this
new gardening discussion group. Meet new
friends and feel free to swap cuttings or any
other produce you may have.
When: Sessions held fortnightly on Thursdays,
1pm to 2pm.
Cost: Entry via gold coin donation.
Art therapy
Come and try your hand at water colour,
sketching, pastels, drawing or bring along your
project and art kit to share your passion with
the group. Skill level is basic.
Helpful details to make a note of include:
When: Sessions held on the third Wednesday
of each month during the school term, 1pm to
2.30pm.

Cost: $5
location of the suspicious activity, i.e. RPA
number and property name, road name, or
identifying landmarks

vehicle details, i.e. registration number,
make, model, colour and any distinguishing
features (e.g. dents, stickers)

characteristics of anyone acting
suspicious, i.e. age, gender, weight, height,
hair colour and clothing.
SAPOL has developed a
Rural Security book that
provides practical tips to
improve the security of
your rural property. To
obtain a copy of the book
or for more crime
prevention tips, please
contact your local police
station or visit
www.police.sa.gov.au.
Women’s group
Whatever your hobby, bring it along to the Hub
and enjoy a cuppa, a chat and a laugh with
other women.
When: Sessions held fortnightly on Thursdays,
10am.
Cost: Please bring a plate of food to share for
morning tea.
Men’s social group
Come along for a cuppa, a chat, meet new
people and share your ideas and interests.
When: Sessions held on the first Tuesday of
each month, 12.30pm to 2pm.
Cost: Gold coin donation to cover sausage
sizzle.
SAFECOM releases Pinery review
From the Minister for Emergency Services
Peter Malinauskas
The State Government has publically released
independent reviews into both the operational
response of the South Australian Country Fire
Service (CFS) and the Government Radio
Network (SAGRN) during last November’s
Pinery fire.
These independent reviews commend the
work of our emergency services agencies and
volunteers in responding to the Pinery fire. Key
to the findings of the CFS report was that the
weather conditions experienced on the day of
the fire prohibited any possibility of containing
the fire until they improved.
The SAGRN report confirms there was no
interruption to the operations of any SAGRN
sites or services during the course of the fire.
The review found that traffic congestion and
delays to radio messages experienced during
the peak of the fire were caused by SAGRN
sites in the Pinery vicinity being overloaded by
unrelated radio traffic.
The SAGRN is regarded as one of the largest
and most effective public safety networks in
the world. In 2009 the Government committed
$154.5 million to upgrade the SAGRN, which
will see improvements to the SAGRN‘s
coverage at a number of locations across the
state, together with increases to the radio
traffic capacity at the majority of its sites to be
completed by the end of 2017.
From these reports, comprehensive action
plans have been developed which address the
lessons learned. One such action is to
enhance the warnings provided to the public,
which will now include maps to supplement
text based warnings. I encourage all members
of the public to download the State
Government’s new emergency services
warning system, Alert SA.
The State Government is committed to
ensuring our emergency services agencies are
properly resourced, which is made possible
through the Emergency Services Levy. The
recent State Budget contained a number of
initiatives that will address recommendations in
the reports, including a $9.3 million
commitment over four years to accelerate the
retrofitting of burn-over technology and
replacement of CFS trucks.
Training for CFS and SES volunteers has also
been bolstered, including nine full time training
positions made possible by a $6.3 million State
Government budget injection over four years. A
further $940,000 over four years will fund
specialised training for operators of the
SAGRN to reduce the risk of operator error in
the heat of an emergency and ensure this
world-class technology is being used to the
best of its ability.
To access the full reports and action plans,
please visit www.safecom.sa.gov.au (click on
publications, then scroll down to the bottom of
the page to the heading Pinery Reports).
As we look back to reflect on this catastrophic
event, we seek to learn not only from what was
done well, but also what can be improved. The
Pinery Fire Recovery Centre in Gawler
continues to operate and a dedicated local
Recovery Coordinator and Community
Development Officer remain committed to
supporting local communities in their recovery.
Smart State PC Donation Program
The Smart State PC Donation Program
provides eligible not-for-profit organisations
with recycled computers (a maximum of three
per organisation). The program runs in rounds,
which occur approximately three times per
year. Each round lasts approximately six
weeks.
The next round (Round 41) opens on Monday
19 September and closes Friday 28 October
2016.
For information on the application guidelines,
frequently asked questions, application forms
and further information, visit
www.dpc.sa.gov.au/smart-state-pc-donationprogram. To obtain a hard copy of the form,
email the Light Electorate Office at
[email protected] or phone
(08) 8522 2878.
Stay connected
The Recovery Hotline (1800 302 787) provides
recovery information for people affected by the
fire. The latest fire recovery information is also
available online at www.sa.gov.au/recovery or
the SA Recovery Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/SArecoveryinfo.
Horse SA wins national award
Addressing the impacts of intense rainfall,
hotter temperatures, increased heat waves
and extreme fire risk days on horses has won
the Horse Federation of SA Inc (Horse SA) a
national climate change award.
Horse SA’s work with horse owners to prepare
for climate change, supported by a Department
of Environment, Water and Natural Resources
(DEWNR) grant, won the ‘Champion –
Community’ category of the National Climate
Change Adaptation Research Facility’s
(NCARF) national climate awards, announced
at the recent NCARF conference .
Executive Officer, Horse SA, Julie Fiedler said
changes in climate can increase the risk of
diseases, land management challenges from
increased drought and floods, and further limit
food supply. This means it’s increasingly
important to prepare so that animals and pets
are taken care of properly.
Horse SA used an online survey to find out
horse owners’ concerns about climate change,
then delved deeper in a full day workshop. The
feedback was brought together in the Climate
Change Adaptation Plan for Horse Owners and
Organisations.
The group received strong feedback from
horse owners and related organisations about
finding out more on how to sustainably
manage land, how to prepare and recover from
natural disasters and to better meet
challenges associated with heat.
More educational programs and activities for
sustainability and managing horses in extreme
events, including a ‘Future Proof Your Horse’
checklist, were delivered with the support of a
number of local, state and Australian
government agencies.
Horse SA is a community based non-profit
organisation working with and for horse
owners on a range of topics and issues of
common interest, including climate change.
Their programs include the ‘Changing up the
way we keep horses’ land management series
of workshops, supported by the Natural
Resources Management Adelaide and Mount
Lofty Ranges, emergency preparedness
sessions with the South Australian State
Emergency Service and Country Fire Service,
and a new website ‘My Horse Disaster Plan’.
To see the plan, visit
www.myhorsedisasterplan.org.au.
Congratulations to Julie and her team on this
fantastic achievement.
Horse SA will be hosting a range of events in
the coming months. More information is
available in the events section.
Permapine posts
Do you still need to dispose of CCA treated
permapine posts that were damaged in the
Pinery fire?
The Pinery fire recovery team want to hear
from you about your needs in disposing of the
posts to better understand the issue and
identify solutions.
Please email [email protected]
and let us know your name, address, contact
number, council area and the number of posts
requiring disposal.
Recovery structure
Many individuals and groups make up the
Pinery fire recovery effort. At the heart of the
recovery effort is the community, with most
working quietly behind the scenes to
coordinate community-led initiatives, events
and projects. The recovery team is here to
support that process.
The diagram on the following page
demonstrates how the community guides the
recovery effort at the top of the structure,
followed by the many other groups that
contribute to the recovery work.
Pet and horse owner survey
View the Pinery recovery plan
You are invited to participate in research being
conducted by the Appleton Institute of Central
Queensland University, Adelaide, part of the
Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative
Research Centre. The project aims to improve
community fire safety. The survey takes
approximately 25 minutes to complete, and
most questions are optional.
The Local Recovery Committee, together with
the State Recovery Office, has been working
hard to support the community with its
recovery following the Pinery fire in November.
Through the committee, a Pinery Fire
Recovery Plan has been created to guide
activities that support your medium to longterm recovery.
Participants are eligible to win one of four $50
vouchers from PETstock and Bonnetts
Saddlery.
Please visit www.dcsi.sa.gov.au (scroll down to
click on ‘Disaster recovery’ > ‘Pinery fire
recovery newsletters), to view the Recovery
Plan. It may help you to understand where the
recovery effort is heading and assist you in
your own recovery path.
Bushfires are a part of life in rural South
Australia. When they do occur it is important to
learn as much as possible about the fires and
people’s experience of them. This project can
help emergency services and other groups
better understand how to improve community
safety for the future by learning as much as
possible about what happened before and
during the fires to pet and horse owners.
People with pets and/or horses in communities
affected by the Pinery fire in 2015 are being
asked to describe their experiences.
This online survey covers the following topics:

Did you have a bushfire survival plan?

Did you think there was going to be a day
of bad fire weather?

When and how did you first find out that
you were threatened by a bushfire?

What do you think you and others could
have done differently to improve your
safety and that of your pets and horses
before and during this bushfire?
To participate in the survey, visit
http://tinyurl.com/gqxd4qu.
If you have any further questions about the
survey, email Dr Lisel O’Dwyer at
[email protected], or phone 0412 199 385.
It has been wonderful to see the community
taking the lead on many recovery projects,
including the recent Girls Night Out event and
plant distribution days, and you are warmly
encouraged to continue in this manner.
Printed copies of the plan are available from
various locations around the fire area, and
from the Recovery Centre at 43 High Street,
Gawler.
The plan is an ongoing ‘live’ document, with
your feedback taken into consideration where
possible. If you have any comments about the
plan, particularly any issues that you would like
to see addressed, please either send an email
to [email protected] or
phone 1800 302 787.
$10,000 for primary producers
Eligible primary producers in the council areas
of Clare and Gilbert Valleys, Light, Mallala and
Wakefield are invited to apply for funding
through the Natural Disaster Relief and
Recovery Assistance Grants programme.
Grants of up to $10,000 are available to
primary producers who suffered direct damage
as a result of the Pinery fire and intend to reestablish their primary production businesses.
The grants are intended to provide short-term,
assistance by reimbursing clean-up and
reinstatement costs not covered by insurance.
Applications close Friday 4 November 2016.
To access the fact sheet and the application
form visit www.pir.sa.gov.au/pinerygrant.
For grant assistance, phone the Grant Hotline
on 1800 182 235 (toll free), or phone the
PIRSA Pinery Bushfire Recovery Facilitator on
(08) 8207 7847.
Pinery anthology now available
Winged Pods, the Pinery
fire writing anthology, a
blend of poetry and prose,
is now available for sale.
Purchase your copy at
Poetic Justice Café and
Gallery located at 4
Walker Place, Gawler. A
display copy is also
available at the Pinery
Fire Recovery Centre at
43 High Street, Gawler.
Books are $20 and part proceeds go to the
CFS Volunteer Association.
For more information, phone Carolyn Cordon
on 0418 806 490 or email
[email protected].
Events
Herbal medicine for horses
Horse SA – webinar
Join Gizelle Hamilton from Sacred Horse to
gain an overview of herbal medicine for
horses. Free event.
When: Tuesday 4 October, 7pm to 7.45pm
Where: Online webinar
RSVP: To register, visit the registration page at
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5181
497301114051842
Webinar ID: 911-315-491
Vet School Tour - Horse SA
When: Thursday 6 October
10.30am to 11.30am
Where: University of Adelaide, Roseworthy
campus
RSVP: To register for this free event, visit
www.horsesa.asn.au/events/event/vet-schooltour.
The Spring Flush - Horse SA
Hear tips for horse care during spring,
identification and control of spring weeds and
common paddock plants toxic to horses.
Free event.
When: Thursday 6 October, 7pm to 9pm
Venue: University of Adelaide, Roseworthy
campus
RSVP: To register and find out more, visit
www.horsesa.asn.au/events/event/the-springflush_roseworthy.
Are your horses safer this summer?
Horse SA
Gain an insight into working as a team with
vets and emergency services, supporting the
use of basic large animal rescue techniques to
help prepare you, your horse and your
property for the coming fire season.
Free event.
When: Monday 10 October, 6.30pm
Where: Kapunda Harness Racing Track
Hancock Road, Kapunda.
RSVP: To register and find out more, visit
http://www.horsesa.asn.au/events/event/areyour-horses-safer-this-summer.
The beauty heartist
A free make-up and self-esteem workshop
presented by professional make-up artist and
counsellor Larissa Jones for young women in
school years 8 to 10. Lunch included.
When: Wednesday 12 October, 9am to 5pm
Where: The Hamley Hair Connection
11 Light St, Hamley Bridge.
RSVP: To register, and to find out more, visit
http://beautyheartistworkshophamley.eventbrite.com.au, or phone
Nicole Hall on 0475 943 673.
Save our mates
Hear Anthony Hart’s powerful story of survival,
learn strategies to cope with personal
challenges and learn skills to support your
family and friends in crisis. Includes free BBQ,
soft drink and supper. Bar available.
When: Friday 14 October, 6.30pm
Where: Kapunda Bowling Club
19 Montefiore St, Kapunda.
RSVP: Lorinda Bayley on 0428 947 479
or Lyn James on 0430 456 230.
DIY horse property plan - Horse SA
Participants will receive a map of their
property, plastic overlays and a handy property
planning reference booklet. Small farm
managers with other livestock welcome.
Free event.
When: Thursday 1 December, 7pm
Where: The Greenock Institute
Branson Road, Greenock.
RSVP: Registrations close 20 November. To
register and find out more, visit
http://www.horsesa.asn.au/events/event/diyhorse-property-plan_greenock.
Contact information
Counselling services
Recovery details
Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636
Youth Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Mens Line Australia: 1300 789 978
Kids Helpline: 1800 551 800
National counselling helpline: 1800RESPECT
or www.1800respect.org.au
Country Health SA Clinical Counselling
Service: Angaston (08) 8563 8544 or Gawler
(08) 8521 2080
Northern Health Network: (08) 8209 0700
Recovery Hotline:
1800 302 787
Pinery Fire Recovery Centre:
0477 744 258
TAFE Gawler campus - 43 High Street, Gawler
Pinery Fire Recovery website:
www.sa.gov.au/recovery
SA Recovery Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/SArecoveryinfo
Volunteering
Local Councils
Volunteering SA&NT: 1300 135 545
www.volunteeringsa.org.au
Wakefield Regional Council: (08) 8862 0800
www.wakefieldrc.sa.gov.au
District Council of Mallala: (08) 8527 0200
www.mallala.sa.gov.au
Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council:
(08) 8842 6400
www.claregilbertvalleys.sa.gov.au
Business support
Rural Business Support: 1800 836 211
www.ruralbusinesssupport.org.au
Natural Resources
For assistance with property recovery, pest
plant/animal control, revegetation, stock
management and whole farm planning.
Light Regional Council: (08) 8525 3200
www.light.sa.gov.au
Natural Resources Adelaide and Mt Lofty
Ranges, Gawler Office: (08) 8523 7700
Agriculture and livestock
Natural Resources Northern and Yorke, Clare
Office: (08) 8841 3400
www.naturalresources.sa.gov.au then click on
‘Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges’ > ‘Pinery fire
recovery’.
PIRSA: (08) 8207 7847
Livestock SA and Primary Producers SA:
(08) 8297 2299
Disaster recovery assistance
Commonwealth Government Information
Hotline: 180 22 66
Funds available for Pinery Community
Development Projects:
www.sa.gov.au/emergencies/pineryfire
Grants for primary producers (close 4 Nov ‘16)
www.pir.sa.gov.au/pinerygrant
Waste management
Environment Protection Authority:
(08) 8204 2004 or 1800 623 445
Community support
Freeling Support Group: 0477 717 736
Habitat for Humanity: (08) 8344 6009 or email:
[email protected]
Information and referral
Women’s Information Service: (08) 8303 0590
www.wis.sa.gov.au