The South Durras community is now benefiting from disaster-resilient power-poles thanks to funding from the Australian Government and the tenacity of local campaigners.
Member for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips MP today joined with representatives from Essential Energy and Durras Community Association Vice President Trevor Daly to celebrate the completion of the last component of the resilient power and telecommunications upgrades in South Durras.
A key commitment for Fiona Phillips before the last election, the Albanese Government has provided $221,000 to replace thirty timber power poles between South Durras and the Princes Highway with composite fire-proof poles and relocate power cables to the local NBN fixed-wireless tower underground.
In the wake of the 2019-20 bushfires, members of the South Durras community sounded the alarm about how close the bushfire came to destroying their key power and communications infrastructure. Fiona Phillips worked with the community to ensure the key local infrastructure was protected for any future incidents.
Relocation of the NBN cable was completed in August 2023, with the final Essential Energy power poles replaced in December.
Quotes attributable to Fiona Phillips MP:
“It is no secret that our community is still recovering from those terrible bushfires.
“I have worked tirelessly to help ensure local villages right across the South Coast are better protected should the worst happen again, with a key focus on resilience in power and telecommunications.
“We know that one of the most terrifying things about the bushfires was that we lost power – impacting on water supply, food safety, health, and of course communications. No one wants to see that repeated.
“With the final piece of the puzzle now complete, I am simply delighted to see South Durras’ power and telecommunications become more resilient thanks to this funding support.
“I’d like to sincerely thank Essential Energy for their work upgrading these power poles – and of course Trevor Daly and the Durras community for their ongoing advocacy on this.
“I will always do what I can to support sensible local projects which boost our resilience and prepare us better for the future.”
Quotes attributable to Essential Energy:
According to Luke Jenner, Essential Energy's Chief Operating Officer, composite poles are an important addition to the electricity distribution network because they improve its resilience to the climate events that are becoming more and more frequent.
"The main benefit for a community to have composite power poles installed is electricity reliability. Unlike traditional timber poles, composite poles are immune to termite damage, they don't rot, and they are much more resistant to the effects of fire, which means the power is more likely to stay on.
“In the 2019 and 2020 bushfires, the fire totally destroyed the timber poles but the composite poles that had been installed were still standing.
“Composite poles are made of fiberglass, similar to the mast of some yachts. They are much lighter than timber poles making them easier and safer for Essential Energy crews to install.
“It also means that we can transport more of them at one time, allowing us to restore power to communities quicker in the aftermath of an extreme weather event.”
Quotes attributable to Dr Trevor Daly, Vice President, Durras Community Association:
“The Durras community has campaigned long and hard since the end of the 2019-20 bushfires for these power pole replacements and several other critical infrastructure upgrades that will better protect our community during future bushfires and other emergencies.
“We are delighted to see these pole replacement works completed and delivered as promised. We thank our local Federal MP Fiona Phillips and Essential Energy for their constant and strong support and for listening to our community.
“Upgrades of key infrastructure for improved emergency resilience are vitally important for at-risk coastal communities like Durras and are essential to protect our lives and homes.
“Maintaining the electricity supply during bushfires is critical for small communities like South Durras which rely on rainwater tanks for water supply. Without power you can’t access tank water to protect your house during bushfires unless you have a generator or fuel fire-fighting pump.
“Electricity supply is also needed to maintain mobile phone and internet access so we are able to receive emergency warnings, keep track of nearby bushfire fronts and maintain communications during fires, storms and all types of emergencies.”
