'We have been under siege and still are': bushfire tributes open year

NSW MP Mike Kelly, whose electorate includes town names now synonymous with tragedy, such as Cobargo or Batlow, said 11 people had died across Eden-Monaro over the summer.

"We have been under siege and we still are," he said, referencing the fires still burning and the fight still to be had to save businesses and economies affected.

"We've had over a million hectares and counting of country burnt across Eden-Monaro, every day, every hour that goes by, more and more. We are a long way from being out of this."

Gilmore MP Fiona Phillips, whose electorate covers the South Coast, paid tribute to the local community's resilience, courage and strength.

"Shane from Conjola Park told me how he and his wife, after staying to defend their property, fled into the lake in a small boat to escape the flames and save their lives," Ms Phillips said.

"Luckily, Shane's house was saved and he and his family spent the next days and months helping to coordinate the donations from community groups, ensuring his neighbours had the supplies and help they needed."

Ms Phillips said the pain was also being felt by business owners and casual workers in towns such as Batemans Bay that were left empty without tourism from Canberra and criticised the government's response.

"People on the South Coast have been dealing with these bushfires since November and still we have individuals who cannot access payments," she said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison opened the condolence motion by paying tribute to the number of firefighters that had died fighting fires across the country over the summer.

The firefighters will be posthumously eligible for the National Medal, Mr Morrison said.

Mr Morrison has written to state and territory leaders seeking their approval of draft terms of reference for a royal commission into the devastating bushfire season.

"We owe it to those we have lost," Mr Morrison told parliament.

"We owe it to those who have fought these fires. We owe it to our children, and the land itself, to learn from the lessons that are necessary."

The Prime Minister wants the probe to look at when the federal government is able to step in above state counterparts in natural disasters and how the states reduce fire risks in the face of hotter, longer and drier summers.

Parliament's first sitting day of the year was entirely dedicated to the bushfires with Mr Morrison labelling the bushfire season where more than 30 people have died as the "Black Summer".

NSW fire chief Shane Fitzsimmons and family members of the nine firefighters who died this season were present in the chamber.

US ambassador Arthur Culvahouse was also in the chamber, as MPs paid tribute to the three US firefighters who died when their air tanker crashed in southern NSW.

"We've seen our fellow Australians on the beach, in unimaginable scenes, huddled together in midday darkness with nowhere to turn but the sea, a horrific illustration that this was anything but business as usual," said Labor leader Anthony Albanese.