Race against time to take care of grisly bushfire task
WARNING – DISTRESSING CONTENT: Army reservists will help bury more than 100,000 sheep and cattle killed in the bushfires.
The reservists will dig mass graves for sheep and cattle killed in the bushfires to stave off a potential biosecurity emergency.
Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud said disposing of dead livestock was an urgent task.
"We will be trying to take pre-emptive steps today with state agencies around making sure the disposal of the livestock is done quickly - there is a biosecurity risk there," Mr Littleproud said.
"We have to think about our native species that have been decimated by the fires, too, in terms of our recovery.”
Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie confirmed defence personnel would dig the pits to dispose dead livestock in over coming days and weeks.
"Bearing in mind, though, it's about getting access to those still live fire grounds," she told the ABC on Monday.
Ms McKenzie emphasised that safety will be a priority.
"Where it's safe to do so we need to be getting in within a week, ideally, to really be dealing with the carcasses in an appropriate way," she said.
Senior members of the federal government are meeting in Canberra to discuss their response to the bushfire emergency.
Reconstructing bridges, roads and critical infrastructure destroyed by the blazes is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Ahead of the cabinet meeting, Mr Littleproud was careful not to put a dollar estimate on how much the recovery would cost.
"If cabinet approves it, we will put in place a mechanism to get that money out the door as quickly as we can," he told the ABC.
Scott Morrison has pledged to commit "everything that is needed and more" to the recovery effort.
The states will not be asked to match the federal government's funding.
The prime minister has launched a national bushfire recovery agency led by former Australian Federal Police commissioner Andrew Colvin.
The agency will offer income support to farmers, small business owners and residents affected by the fires.
Farmers who lost stock will be an urgent priority as the government responds to the fires.
The National Farmers' Federation estimates more than 100,000 livestock have been killed in the bushfires, either during the blazes or afterwards as a result of heat stress and smoke inhalation.
The livestock toll is expected to climb after many herds perished in fires that tore through southern NSW over the weekend.
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Fodder and water is being distributed to surviving livestock herds on blackened paddocks, while fencing and other farm infrastructure is repaired.
Water stocks contaminated by ash are also being investigated.
Mental health supports are another major focus of the cabinet meeting.
"We won't be just rebuilding infrastructure, we want to rebuild lives," Mr Littleproud said.
The prime minister is considering launching a royal commission into the bushfires, an idea which opposition leader Anthony Albanese is open to.
"There will be a time for consideration of the royal commission," Mr Albanese told Sky News.
"We're going to have to have a comprehensive inquiry that goes to the full suite of measures.
"How we manage our national parks, the long-term impact of climate change, this is not business-as-usual."
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