RAAF Base Richmond can send large air tankers across NSW and the eastern seaboard as fire authorities prepare for dangerous summer conditions.
RAAF Base Richmond’s role in fighting bushfires across eastern Australia was on show on Monday as the federal government announced $150 million over three years for national aerial firefighting capability.
Federal Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain made the announcement beside a C-130 air tanker at the Hawkesbury base. The C-130 is one of five aircraft contracted by the Commonwealth to supplement the nearly 170 aircraft the National Aerial Firefighting Centre contracts and stations around the country.
NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Trent Curtin said the partnership with RAAF Base Richmond, now in its 16th year, had established a base from which large air tankers could be deployed across NSW and along the eastern seaboard.
The C-130 on display carried 15,000 litres of fire retardant. Curtin said large tankers could drop retardant when a fast-moving bushfire was heading towards homes, helping protect residents and crews on the ground.
“We’re expecting to see some dangerous conditions this summer,” he said, pointing to hot, dry conditions in parts of the country.
Macquarie MP Susan Templeman urged residents to prepare their homes now, warning that the green conditions still visible in parts of the Sydney region could change quickly. McBain also urged households to know their evacuation plan before an emergency.
McBain said the national fleet could also help evacuate people, deliver supplies to communities cut off by disasters and drop emergency fodder for livestock.
National Emergency Management Agency interim coordinator-general Patrick Hetherington said more than 300 people from emergency services, community organisations, industry and local government had taken part in exercises in September to test how they would respond to hazards during the coming season.
