BUSHFIRE SUPPRESSION
762. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the minister representing the
Minister for Environment:
I
ask this question on behalf of Hon
Tjorn Sibma, who is absent from the
chamber on urgent parliamentary business.
I
refer to bushfire suppression on page 65 of the Department of Biodiversity,
Conservation and Attractions' 2020–21 annual report.
What is the explanation for the enormous variance in the average cost per
hectare burnt of $117.65, which is the 2020–21 actual result, versus the
target cost of $11.74 per hectare?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I
thank Hon Tjorn Sibma for some notice of the question. The following
answer is provided on behalf of the Minister for Environment.
The variance in the average cost
per hectare burnt versus the target cost per hectare for 2020–21 is due
to the significant decrease in the area of
land burnt by bushfires on department-managed lands in regional Western Australia
for the 2020–21 financial year, which was 409 085 hectares, resulting
in a higher average cost per hectare burnt.
The
target cost is based on an average area of the Department of Biodiversity,
Conservation and Attractions–attended bushfires for the
preceding four years. The reported unit cost per hectare for bushfire response
and suppression is inclusive of the recurrent cost of maintaining a bushfire
response capacity.
In 2020–21, the bushfire
impacts were significantly less than in the preceding four years in terms of
area burnt, with a total bushfire area of
409 085 hectares burnt compared with the total bushfire areas for the preceding
years of 2 892 013 hectares in 2019–20;
4 144 215 hectares in 2018–19; 2 789 972 hectares in 2017–18;
and 1 062 958 hectares in 2016–17. The higher average cost per
hectare for 2020–21 reflects the inverse relationship between the
bushfire area and the cost of bushfire suppression.