BUSHFIRE MITIGATION —
VEGETATION CLEARING
1261. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the minister representing the
Minister for Emergency Services:
I refer to media comments this week
by the Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner that changes to regulations
will slash the red tape preventing landowners from clearing vegetation around
their own homes, in which he is quoted as saying that new rules will allow
landowners and occupiers of homes to clear vegetation and prune trees within 20
metres of their property and they will be able to do that without breaching
state or local government laws. I refer also to my Environmental Protection
Amendment (Clearing for Fire Risk Reduction) Bill 2017, which allowed the same
outcome for up to 25 metres.
(1) Why did the
government mislead the community in 2017 and suggest that no changes to laws
preventing clearing for fire reduction were required in response to my bill?
(2) Why did the government wait three years to
instigate a reduction in red tape that is stopping Western Australian
families making their homes safe from fire?
(3) Is this
additional backflip by the McGowan government timed for electoral benefit
rather than safety benefits for the community?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
It is not Thursday! I thank the
honourable member for some notice of the question. The following answer is
provided on behalf of the Minister for Emergency Services.
(1) '''Reframing
Rural Fire Management': Report of the Special Inquiry into the January
2016 Waroona Fire'' identified the
need for state agencies to consider policy options for the clearing of
vegetation by landholders within a specified
distance of an asset or dwelling for the purposes of bushfire protection—opportunity
11.
In 2016, the Bush Fires Act 1954 was
amended to enable the Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner to publish
voluntary standards that clarify the circumstances in which owners or occupiers
of land can undertake measures to prevent the outbreak, spread or extension of
a bushfire and/or mitigate the effect of a bushfire on their property without
the risk of breaching other laws.
The Bush Fire Risk Treatment
Standards allow landowners or occupiers within bushfire-prone areas to clear vegetation
within 20 metres of their property. This allows them to create a defendable
space around their home, which reduces the bushfire impact to the building. A
number of exclusions have been included to ensure protection of our natural
environment and heritage. No further legislative change was
required.
(2) The McGowan
state government has embarked on historic reforms to the bushfire management
sector, which includes record funding for
bushfire mitigation and a first-of-its-kind $33.1 million Bushfire Centre
of Excellence. Robust and extensive consultation was undertaken to ensure that
the Bush Fire Risk Treatment Standards are effective, simple to understand and
strike the right balance between community safety and environmental protection.
(3) No; this
assertion is baseless. This government has a strong record of delivery in
emergency services.