Tragic loss from the Australian Bushfires

Urban Enterprise sympathises with all of the communities across Australia which have been affected and will continue to be affected by the tragic bushfires. Our staff have close connections with many of these areas, having worked in these communities over the past 30 years.

The impact of the bushfires is far reaching, including the devastating loss of life, native flora and fauna, loss of residential properties and displacement of residents, loss of agricultural properties, crops and livestock, closure and loss of tourist facilities, destruction of infrastructure and significant reduction in business income.

 There are many areas that remain under threat and we wish those communities well and to stay safe as they face difficult times ahead.

Support is needed to help bushfire affected regions recover from the devastation that has and will continue to be caused. This includes short term support for communities and businesses and long term rebuilding of these regions.

There have been four extensive bushfires in Victoria over the past 20 years including 2003 Alpine Bushfires, 2006-2007 Eastern Victoria Alpine Bushfires, 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires and now 2019-2020 Gippsland/High Country Bushfires, along with numerous other fires during the period.

The frequency and ferocity of fires in Victoria is increasing and this trend must be understood in the context of climate change. Short term, ad hoc responses to these events are no longer adequate. Strong leadership and greater resources will be needed in Australia and across the world to address the increasing impacts of global warming and to develop new approaches to these increasing events in terms of prevention, response and recovery.

Image Source: EPA