Page 173 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 15 February 2006
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
I am also seriously concerned about the size of some firebreaks across Canberra. Many firebreaks against urban fringes should have been much broader and I would urge the government to revisit current policy on the requirements and standards for such firebreaks. I believe that firebreaks, particularly those along the western fringe on westerly approaches to some of these suburbs, are woefully inadequate. Mr Speaker, I remind you that recommendation No 2 from the McLeod inquiry states:
The Victorian Code of Practice for Fire Management on Public Land should be used as a “best-practice” guide when revising the ACT Bushfire Fuel Management Plan and a similar set of priorities should be developed in relation to zones identified in the Plan.
When we take a look at the Victorian code of practice for fire management on public land we see that the section on fuel breaks, point 186, states:
Fire Protection Plans must indicate the strategy and standards that are used within the planning area to determine fuel break placement, width and condition in order for them to provide significant fire protection benefits. The principles should take account of research and knowledge on fuel break effectiveness and address the impact of fuel breaks on suppression effectiveness and loss potential for likely wildfire scenarios, or on the control of prescribed burns.
I do not think McLeod’s concerns have been met in terms of what we have seen down the urban edge in these last four weeks.
Again, if this point recommended by McLeod were taken on board, would we still see the uncanny state of affairs that occurs across the ACT? In some parts of Bonython, Gordon and Kambah there are at most 10-metre wide breaks on western approaches facing kilometres of deep uninterrupted grasslands, yet in other areas across the city there are very good 30 to 100-metre breaks. These inconsistencies are of significant concern. Small breaks such as those in Bonython, Gordon and Kambah are simply inadequate. With continuing forecasts, as we speak today, of high temperatures with strong north-westerly winds, we would normally expect this fire risk weather pattern to continue for a few more weeks yet.
Let me point out that I cannot see even a single blade of grass that has been cut or burnt in Canberra nature parks—not even within half a kilometre of the urban edge. I have walked out from the urban edge through Canberra nature parks in a number of places and I have not seen any effort by Environment ACT to reduce the bushfire fuel load risk on the land that they manage. Is Environment ACT policy consistent with the need for sensible bushfire prevention planning? I do not know about that. It does not appear to be.
Some other areas that have been identified which require immediate attention include Chifley, O’Malley, Swinger Hill, Greenway, the Glenloch interchange, along with Coulter, Bindubi and Caswell drives, Calwell and Chapman. If the Stanhope government is serious about doing all it can to protect local residents this bushfire season it will immediately deploy resources to eradicate long grasses in these areas. But this is only one aspect of the problem. The government and the emergency services minister also need to do much more for community safety against a bushfire threat by ensuring that the
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .