BUSHFIRES - WHAT WE CAN ACTUALLY DO
Western Victoria Region Bev McArthur has welcomed Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s call for a national register to show each state’s hazard reduction programmes, including prescribed burning and other fuel-load reduction activity.
Mrs McArthur said: “The Prime Minister has stated that tracking fuel load reduction is as important as measuring emissions, and that’s a sentiment I fully agree with.”
“This isn’t about ideology or politics. Whatever your view on climate change, countless commissions and enquiries over the decades have highlighted the importance of active land management in cutting fire risk. Reducing the fuel load is the most direct and practical step we can take to improve public safety.”
“To be properly useful, the register would need to be regular, transparent, and comparable. If we achieve this, a national standard would be extremely valuable, not least in highlighting the different levels of activity in each state. In my view we have much to learn, and this national comparison would be a good starting point.”
In an interview with Sky News presenter Peta Credlin on Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Scott Morrison suggested that states needed to look carefully at hazard-reduction burns, land-clearing laws, and the management of native vegetation and national parks. He noted: “These are all responsibilities of the states and I’m not making any argument for the federal government to be intervening in any of these areas, but it is a very reasonable expectation people have that there are national standards, that there is transparency around how this is being achieved.”
Mrs McArthur backed the Prime Minister’s handling of the bushfires, saying “I support the Federal Government’s response to the crisis so far, the funding announced and the assistance given. And I believe our balanced approach to reducing emissions over time is the right way to go.”
“As a Victorian politician, however, I see it as my role to highlight the more immediate and more local solutions we have at hand. Indeed it’s something I’ve long campaigned on, since well before my election in 2018. My Grandfather died in a bushfire in Western Victoria, and like everyone in regional Victoria I’ve lived with the reality of bushfires all my life. So I believe that as a state we can address issues which will have a much more direct and immediate effect than arguing about emissions, and in the last year I’ve listed many of them.”
“I’ve raised the failure of state authorities to implement the recommendations on prescribed burning made by the Royal Commission on the 2009 Victorian Bushfires.”
“I’ve pointed out the dangers of misguided environmentalism, not simply its suspicion of planned burning, but indeed of any man-made activity in the bush. I highlighted the many negative consequences that locking up the forests – from recreational users, from domestic firewood collection, and from our timber industry – will likely have on our ability to reduce fuel load, and to fight fires which do break out.”
“I’ve also spoken about our baffling ignorance of traditional land management practices – including what is effectively prescribed burning. On my visit to Budj Bim, for example, the Gunditjmara Traditional Owners, could not believe the naivety of some environmentalists who believe non-intervention is the best way to manage the land.”
“I pointed out the inaction of Powercor in addressing faulty and dangerous power poles in Regional Victoria, and the failure by VicRoads and others to deal with roadside vegetation – including their total lack of support for roadside grazing.”
“Nor should we forget the hugely damaging loss of volunteer CFA firefighters in regional Victoria, as a direct result of the current Premier’s actions. And finally, I’ve drawn attention to the academic evidence supporting the deterrent effect of proper prison sentences for deliberate arsonists.”
Mrs McArthur concluded: “This isn’t about dismissing climate change, it’s about taking a common sense approach. We should concentrate on controlling the variables in our power, improving our preparation and resilience.” “I’m suspicious of the motives of some of those who want only to talk about climate change and emissions. To me, they’re more concerned about using this opportunity to attack the very basis of our capitalist system, than finding solutions to save lives.”
Mrs McArthur has jointly arranged a meeting on land management and fire policy in Terang Civic Hall tomorrow, Friday 24 January, 1.30pm, with the Hon. Dan Tehan MP, Federal Member for Wannon, and Richard Riordan MP, State member for Polwarth.
23 January 2020