Fire season to stretch on until April as Scott Morrison mulls greater Commonwealth involvement

Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie has also warned supermarkets that they need to pass on price rises to farmers, amid reports of the cost of food going up due to the drought and fires.

Mr Morrison and Senator McKenzie announced on Tuesday in Canberra farmers in fire-affected regions would be able to access payments of up to $75,000 from the $2 billion recovery fund.

Around $100 million is expected to be paid out to primary producers, farmers and graziers under the program, which Mr Morrison said would provide an economic boost to regions ravaged by fire.

But Senator McKenzie said supermarkets would also need to ensure any price rises for food in supermarkets were ending up in producers' pockets.

She said supermarkets had been warning customers that the cost of red meat, fruit and vegetables would go up because of the drought and bushfires.

"It's up to the supermarkets to not just talk about being the fresh food people but get on with supporting, in a very real and tangible way, because farmers don't grow food for free, it's a business - I know we like to get a bit romantic about it but the reality is it is a business. They need to make a living. That means we need to pay the cost of producing the food," Senator McKenzie said.

"Through tough times such as we're experiencing now, drought and bushfire, are severely impacting the cost of our farmers and now our processors in the supply chain, so the other end of the supply chain needs to stump up."

While milder conditions have delivered a reprieve to firefighters battling blazes through south-eastern Australia this week, Mr Morrison said he had been briefed by the Bureau of Meteorology that the warmer and drier conditions would continue until the end of April.

"I make this point, that despite the fact that we are seeing some welcome and more relieving conditions in the foreseeable future over the next few days, and at this point, I have not been advised to me the next spike day, as we've seen in previous times, that's not to say one won't present itself," Mr Morrison said

"Our focus is very much on not only the significant recovery plans that are being put in place - we will be announcing more of those today after the national security committee in its expanded form meet today - but to stress there are many more months of responses and directly confronting these fires as they continue, whether they are smouldering in places, whether they've had welcome rain or are active in many cases around the country."

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It comes as Mr Morrison considers a trigger for direct Commonwealth involvement in disaster responses, after criticism he was too slow to act on the bushfire crisis.

Mr Morrison said any changes should be informed by a review of the states' response to the disaster, although he hit back at resistance to his idea for a Commonwealth royal commission.

Victoria has launched its own two-year inquiry into the fires, while NSW will hold its own separate probe.

"What needs to be understood in any review is what is the overall capacity of that state response and at what point and in what set of events would that trigger moving from the response setting of the federal government to a proactive setting," Mr Morrison said.

"Anything I've said in this area has not been to replace or otherwise be instead of any of the normal reviews you'd expect to be taking at a state level so any suggestion that these two are somehow in conflict is just completely false."

A federal review would look at issues of Australia's resilience to future fire events, and "adaption going forward in recognition of longer hotter drier seasons", Mr Morrison said.

"The emissions reduction of any one country in the world is not going to stop or start one fire event, but the climate resilience and adaption work ... can directly ensure that Australians are better protected against what this reality is in the future," Mr Morrison said.