Australia: Fires

(asked on 7th January 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance, if any, they have offered to the government of Australia to deal with the bushfire crises.


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 15th January 2020

The Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and I have been in contact with our Australian counterparts to offer our condolences and stress our readiness to help in whatever way they need. I also met with FM Payne on the 3 January in Sydney and offered our full support.

As set out by FCO Minister Heather Wheeler in her Oral Statement of 9 January, we have deployed a team of UK experts to Australia.

The team includes a senior member of UK Fire and Rescue Service, a medical specialist in trauma and mental health, and a military liaison officer specialising in crisis response.

They will work with Australian counterparts to establish what further UK support will be of most use to Australian emergency responders, and ensure that such contributions are fully integrated with Australian efforts.

Reticulating Splines