Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea visits fire affected regions

(L to R) Yarra Area General Manager Lex de Man, Prime Minister Somare and CFA Board Chairman Kerry Murphy

Report by Helen Goddard, CFA Manager Government Relations. Photos by Peter Bongiorno.

The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Sir Michael Somare visited Kinglake, Kinglake West and Flowerdale to meet CFA members earlier this week.

Prime Minister Somare’s program was only meant to include an hour for the visit. He stayed just on two, just so he could meet with CFA members and hear first-hand experiences of the recent fires.

Sir Michael was escorted on a tour of the Pine Ridge Road area by Yarra General Manager Lex de Man.

At Kinglake National Park he met volunteers from Kinglake and Kinglake West brigades and received a briefing from Operations Officer Jason Lawrence. At Flowerdale, Sir Michael and his party spent time with volunteers from Kinglake and Flowerdale.

Sir Michael said he was very sad to see results of the tragedy and he likened his sadness to that of visiting his own village when it was decimated by tsunami. He added that he felt sure some good would happen in bringing communities together.

The helmet fits!

Flowerdale brigade Captain Glenn Woods presented Sir Michael with a CFA helmet and jacket. The helmet had been personalised for the Prime Minister.

CFA Chairman Kerry Murphy presented a plaque on behalf of the Board and CFA to the Prime Minister. In making the presentation the Chairman spoke at length about the spirit of mates helping each other – which he stressed was not just at a local, community level, but also across the seas in the international environment.

Earlier in the day the Prime Minister undertook a tour of the integrated Emergency Coordination Centre and Acting Deputy Chief Officer Peter Baker was there to brief him with colleagues from the Department of Sustainability and Environment.

The photos below show the Prime Minister – complete with helmet – meeting brigade members from Kinglake West, Kinglake and Flowerdale brigades.

Sir Michael’s visit to fire affected areas was the first by a Head of State since the fires.