The Australian Capital Territory government will provide assistance to all ACT rural lessees with properties that have been affected by the bushfires, Chief Minister Jon Stanhope announced.

Stanhope said Environment ACT would provide assistance to lessees whose properties had been fire damaged.

“Those lessees will receive 100% of costs for cartage for feeding animals for one week after the fires and 50% of cartage cost after that, until conditions improve with changes in the weather,” he said in a news release.

The termination date will be assessed according to conditions. Assistance will be assessed on a case by case basis and the subsidy will be available on a needs basis. This is the same assistance that is being offered by New South Wales.

While this assistance is aimed at rural lessees, it is also being extended to Pegasus Riding for the Disabled at Holt.

“Pegasus undertakes work of great benefit to the community and this will help them in continuing their good work. It will not be extended to other horse paddocks,” Stanhope said.

The cost of this assistance package is likely to be in the $100,000 range.

Teams of staff from Environment ACT with assistance from veterinarians, are visiting all farms in the affected areas to provide assistance to farmers that are in need.

The disposal of animals killed by the fires, or put down because of fire injuries, is being undertaken by Environment ACT at no cost to the lessees.

Meanwhile, during the last week of January, ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope lifted the state of emergency imposed 10 days earlier to deal with Canberra's bushfire crisis.

Stanhope said he was acting on advice that the immediate threat from the bushfires had passed.

“Emergency services bureau personnel will remain on high alert, and will continue to fight the fires still burning, but the immediate danger has passed,” he said.