Perhaps, where possible, they should be going to the place of need, rather than having people coming to a central point. It is only where someone's house was once standing that we are not going to continually hear the Aussie saying "I'm alright ... someone's worse off the me".

It took a phone call from the office of Bega MP Andrew Constance to the office of the Prime Minister (who now gets the enormity of the fire event) to get more counsellors down here.

Andrew has shown leadership in more ways than one in the fires; perhaps the most important being he admits he needs assistance.

There are a real lot of people having trouble coping with daily living; they literally can't fill in pages of paperwork to get assistance. Some are giving up, some falling through the cracks. One 64-year-old person, after lugging three grand kids to a CentreLink office, was attended to with insensitive ruddiness.

Deadlines for assistance must be extended and counsellors must be skilled to assist in filling out paperwork.

The Eurobodalla Coast Alliance Inc has called for a national bushfire Remembrance Day to avoid the bushfires that ravaged New South Wales and Victoria this year.

The Alliance wants the day to be commemorated in all schools with fire management experts visiting to explain to children the need to manage forests properly and stress the importance of risk mitigation.

In a submission to the NSW Bushfire Inquiry, ECA says "the history of bushfires in Australia and failure of governments at all levels to act on the recommendations of subsequent inquiries shows that memories can be very short.

"Unless the community, particularly those who live in the centre of large cities where the only risk from bushfires is smoke irritation, continues to understand the need for risk mitigation, future disasters are inevitable.

"An ongoing education campaign about the need to protect lives and properties is essential to stop the negligence of the past continuing into the future. Our children deserve better than that."

In its submission ECA says the Inquiry should review all legislation and regulations which inhibit or prevent risk reduction activities being undertaken, and recommend their repeal.

"Action must be taken to reduce the fire risk in all built up residential areas to an acceptable level that places neither the residents or emergency services personnel at undue risk of injury or death,"ECA says.

"Large stands of eucalyptus trees within existing subdivisions should be removed. Where the density of Eucalyptus trees on individual allotments creates a fire path, owners should be encouraged and subsidised to thin these trees. A one hundred metre asset protection zone should be cleared around the entire subdivision to be kept clear of combustible trees and used as a containment line in the event of future fires.

"And the government must review its planning legislation and repeal any environmental legislation that supports policies that increase the fire risk to NSW residents."

ECA also expresses concern about damage to energy supplies and communications, and calls on the Government to ensure extensive safe zones around power lines and mobile phone towers.