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National Emergency Declaration Bill passes ahead of summer
Australian will be in a stronger position to respond to major emergencies as a result of new laws to declare national emergencies.
The National Emergency Declaration Bill makes the process for declaring a national emergency clear.
“This means that national resources can be more rapidly deployed in order to help Australians affected by emergency situations, including natural disaster,” the Attorney-General said.
Under these new laws, a declaration can be made in circumstances where an emergency has arisen that has caused, is causing, or is likely to cause, nationally significant harm to:
Statement on strengthening Australia s resilience to natural disaster miragenews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from miragenews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Every summer, Ben Pettingill and his family and friends head to Mallacoota, a small town on Victoria s east coast. But last year’s visit turned into a nightmare when a huge bushfire hit on 31 December, causing the sky to turn an apocalyptic shade of red and triggering an outpouring of concern around the world.
In pitch-black darkness caused by bushfire smoke, Ben and his family headed out in a boat onto the lake. They remained there for hours, heads wrapped in towels to protect them from the smoke, putting out live embers blown about by gale-force winds.