Bush Fires (Further Amendment) Bill

About this Item
Speakers - Griffiths The Hon Terence
Business - Bill, First Reading, Second Reading

BUSH FIRES (FURTHER AMENDMENT) BILL

Bill introduced and read a first time.

Second Reading

Mr GRIFFITHS (Georges River - Minister for Police, and Minister for Emergency Services) [8.24]: I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Between 27 December 1993 and 16 January 1994 the State of New South Wales experienced the most severe bushfires in more than 50 years. The extremely high temperatures and strong winds saw up to 800 wildfires rage across much of the eastern seaboard and, in particular, the Sutherland, Blue Mountains, Illawarra, Hunter, Northern Rivers, Tamworth, Lismore, Dubbo, northern suburbs and Central Coast areas. As a result of the fires, more than 800,000 hectares of land were burnt; 188 residential properties were destroyed, many of them in urban areas, particularly Como and Jannali; sadly four people died, two of whom were volunteer firefighters who did a superb job.

The nature and extent of the bushfires made New South Wales, and in particular Sydney, the focus of attention nationally and internationally. Despite the extent of the bushfires and their severity, life and property losses were relatively minimal. The level of loss under the conditions which prevailed is testimony to the skill, courage and commitment of all those involved - both firefighters and support personnel. While the Government has recognised, and continues to recognise, the efforts of firefighters across Australia, the fact is that the community can never thank them enough. The Government reacted swiftly and responsibly in establishing a Cabinet subcommittee on bushfire management and control, chaired by the Deputy Premier, to review the tragic events over the new year. Honourable members would also be aware that a coronial inquest into the January bushfires is being conducted by the Senior Deputy State Coroner, Mr John Hiatt.

The deputy coroner is being assisted and supported by task force Boyne, a 60-strong police task force which has been established to investigate and report to the coroner on the circumstances, manner and cause of the four deaths, and the cause and origin of the bushfires. The coroner's inquiry will be comprehensive and his final report is not expected before the end of the year. The Cabinet committee released its interim report on 22 March, highlighting the issues that must be addressed prior to the commencement of the 1994-95 bushfire season. It is imperative we do something before the next bushfire season commences. In this regard the committee has made 30 recommendations for legislative and policy changes to improve the State's capacity to prevent and control bushfires. Those recommendations have been endorsed by Cabinet. The most important recommendations deal broadly with the issues of fuel hazard reduction and bushfire management which have been addressed in this bill.

However, before I elaborate on them I remind honourable members that legislation has already passed through this House to increase the penalty for the unauthorised lighting of bushfires, and to protect the employment of certified members of voluntary emergency organisations when carrying out duties as volunteers in a recognised emergency. One of the most significant themes arising from the many submissions received by the Cabinet subcommittee was the ad hoc and inconsistent approach to fuel hazard reduction across the State, which bordered on negligence. Under current arrangements, the Bush Fires Act enables the Bush Fire Co-ordinating Committee to form district fire committees for any local government area or locality within the State and, in consultation with that committee, to prepare plans for the reduction of fire hazards as well as operational plans setting out the procedures to be followed for the suppression of bushfires.

The main problem with the present system is that the establishment of district fire committees and the carrying out of planning situations including the preparation of plans are not mandatory. Accordingly, there are different approaches to planning and the carrying out of fuel hazard reduction throughout the State. These amendments to the Bush Fires Act recognise that fuel management is fundamental to the control of bushfires. The only means managers have of decreasing the impact of wildfires is to reduce fuel loads by well based fuel management programs. Well documented research has shown that simply halving the fuel load in an area will reduce the impact of a wildfire by up to 16 times, which is quite significant.

The amendments will empower the co-ordinating committee to establish committees, to be known as bushfire management committees, for any part of the State and at least for those areas nominated as bushfire districts. Existing district fire committees will be renamed accordingly. The bushfire management committees will comprise representatives of local government, State Forests, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the two fire services and conservation groups. Each bushfire management committee will be required to prepare draft bushfire management plans prior to the commencement of the next bushfire season, setting out, first, bush fire fighting operational procedures to be followed in the event of a bushfire - otherwise known as a plan of operations - and, second, bushfire hazard reduction measures to be taken on the land for which the committee was established - otherwise known as fuel management plans.

When prepared, those plans must be submitted to the Bush Fire Co-ordinating Committee, which may approve the plans with or without change. However, the co-ordinating committee will not be able to approve that part of a plan which imposes requirements on a public authority within the administration of a Minister if that authority objects to those requirements. The part of the plan subject to dispute will remain unapproved until the relevant Ministers have considered the issue and decided whether the requirements should be imposed, varied
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or revoked. If a draft plan is not prepared on time or is inadequate, the Commissioner of Bush Fire Services may prepare the draft plan instead. The plan will then be regarded as the plan of the Bush Fire Management Committee. To ensure plans are current, there is a requirement that plans be reviewed and updated every two years or such other period as may be prescribed in the regulations.

The mere presence of fuel management plans alone is not sufficient to minimise the impact of bushfires. These plans must be implemented. At present, local councils and public authorities such as the National Parks and Wildlife Service and State Forests have a general duty under the Bush Fires Act to take all practicable steps to prevent fires and to minimise the risk of fires spreading. In addition, local councils have a discretionary power to issue notices to private landholders or occupiers requiring the burning of firebreaks and other bushfire hazard reduction measures. Because fire risks extend beyond local government boundaries, the Cabinet committee recommended that local councils should not have a discretion when it is necessary to implement hazard reduction works on private land in accordance with the relevant bushfire management plan.

In this regard the amendments will require local councils to issue notices to the owners or occupiers of private land so that bushfire hazard reduction work will be carried out in accordance with the relevant bushfire management plan; and to monitor and report on the carrying out of that work. An amendment to the Local Government Act has been made in this regard. The amendments also place the obligation of carrying out that work on the local council if the person required to do so by a notice fails to carry it out in accordance with the plan. The amendments also grant important additional powers to the Commissioner of Bush Fire Services.

Under this legislation, the commissioner will be empowered to carry out hazard reduction work in accordance with a fuel management plan where a local council or public authority fails to carry out that work. A provision is included in the bill to allow the commissioner to recover costs of carrying out the work from the owner or occupier of the land concerned. In order to resolve any dispute which might arise between the commissioner and a public authority about whether or not hazard reduction work has been carried out in a manner required by the plan, a further dispute resolution procedure has been included in the legislation.

The Ministers responsible for the authorities concerned will decide the issue and their decision will be binding on the parties to the dispute. A related issue to fuel hazard reduction is the issuing of permits under section 10 of the Bush Fires Act. These permits authorise the lighting of fires for the purpose of clearing land containing timber, grass or other vegetation regarded as hazardous. A permit is only required during the bushfire danger period, that is, October to March. The Cabinet committee was informed that some property-owners have experienced difficulty in obtaining a permit because some local councils have required applicants for a permit to meet the requirements of part 5 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act before a permit is issued. This effectively means that applicants would be required to examine and take into account all matters affecting or likely to affect the environment by reason of the burn-off. This situation only applies during the bushfire danger period when permits are required. It does not apply outside this period.

It is clear that the provisions of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act were not meant to apply to burn-offs by private property owners or occupiers of land. The bill clarifies the position in this regard. Another feature of this bill is that it rationalises the different legislative schemes for obtaining burn-off permits. Apart from the availability of a permit under section 10 of the Bush Fires Act, a permit under section 35A of the Fire Brigades Act is currently required for a fire lit in a fire district if it is likely to be dangerous to a building. A section 35A permit is not required where a permit under section 10 is in force. Section 35A permits are rarely issued these days because of the variety of legislative prohibitions on burning off, particularly in urban areas.

The bill therefore repeals section 35A and provides for all permits to be issued under section 10 of the Bush Fires Act. The issue of permits of the kind formerly issued under section 35A can be made by the local council and the officer in charge of the nearest fire station. Where a local council issues a permit of this type it will be under a duty to notify the fire brigades. Finally, the amendments provide for permits to remain in force for 21 days from the date of issue, unless they are previously revoked or a total fire ban is in force. This will afford permit holders greater flexibility in organising a burn-off and will avoid the inconvenience of having to obtain another permit during that time if a burn has to be postponed for a short period. Notice of when a fire is to be lit will still be required in accordance with the regulations.

I turn now to the other major issue reflected in these amendments and that concerns the co-ordination of bush fire fighting activities. The Chief Co-ordinator of Bush Fire Fighting, who is also the Commissioner of Bush Fire Services, has since 1970 been able to appoint a person under section 41F of the Act to take charge of bush fire fighting operations for any or all local government areas listed in schedule 3 of the Bush Fires Act. Those areas essentially represent that part of the State east of the Great Dividing Range. The benefits of establishing a co-ordinated system of bush fire fighting operations became apparent after the major bushfires experienced in the bushfire season of 1968-69. At that time, there was no system in place to centrally co-ordinate the activities of various independent emergency fire controllers appointed for each local government area affected by the fires, and to manage bush fire fighting resources both personnel and equipment.

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A number of local councils situated west of the Great Dividing Range have recognised the merit of allowing the chief co-ordinator to exercise section 41F powers in their areas and have transferred, or are in the process of transferring, to the "co-ordination zone." These councils are: Brewarrina; Coolah; Cowra; Deniliquin; Gilgandra; Gunnedah; Merriwa; Moree Plains; Murrurundi; Quirindi; Nundle; Walgett; Warren; Uralla; and Yalleroi. While the Government recognises that some local councils west of the divide are still doubtful about joining the "co-ordination zone", efforts will be made to encourage them to join. In the meantime, the amendments provide that the powers of the chief co-ordinator under section 41F of the Bush Fires Act can be exercised in relation to a bushfire in a single local government area not included in schedule 3, but only by a person nominated by the chief co-ordinator from the list of emergency fire controllers eligible to be appointed for that area.

When making such an appointment the chief co-ordinator must take into account any representations from the local bushfire management committee as to who should be nominated. In other cases, and in particular when a bushfire encroaches on more than one local government area not within the co-ordination zone, the chief co-ordinator will be able to take charge of the bush fire fighting operations consistent with his powers under section 41F. A further amendment of an operational nature included in this bill is to grant local fire control officers the right to call out bush fire brigades to all bushfires wherever they occur in accordance with an approved bushfire management plan. The basis for the amendment was the Cabinet committee's concern at claims that certain public land managers resisted attempts by bush fire brigades to provide first response to bushfires in some areas of the State.

The Cabinet committee concurred with the view that it is vital that bush fire brigades be able to provide rapid first response to bushfires if bushfires are to be prevented from gaining momentum. At the same time the Cabinet committee agreed that land management agencies should continue to be allowed to determine the most appropriate method of firefighting undertaken on their land in accordance with their land management requirements. It is intended that those requirements will be included in the relevant bushfire management plan. The final substantive amendment in the bill concerns the expansion of the bushfire co-ordinating committee from five to eight members.

Apart from its general planning responsibilities, the co-ordinating committee is the body principally responsible for ensuring that a system is in place for co-ordinating emergency firefighting activities in the eastern part of the State. It currently comprises five members, including the Commissioner of Bush Fire Services, who is chairman, and representatives of State Forests, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the New South Wales Fire Brigades, and the Local Government and Shires Associations. The three additional members of the co-ordinating committee are to be drawn from representatives of the Bush Fire Council, which is an advisory council to the Minister for Police and Emergency Services. However, they cannot be ex-officio members of the council and at least one of them must be an occupier of rural land affected by a bushfire management plan.

The rationale for this amendment is that the co-ordinating committee would benefit directly from the experience and perceptions of those members on the council. Apart from the enormous sense of community demonstrated during the bushfire emergency, the other positive element arising from the tragic events that occurred during January is the opportunity to learn from the experience. The two major lessons that have been learnt and which are reflected in this bill are that there is a need for a more comprehensive and uniform approach to bushfire management planning across the State and to the implementation of fuel management plans. The events of early January have reinforced the view that the key to minimising the impact of bushfires is to monitor and control fuel levels.

Clear examples have emerged which show that the impact of the fires was far less on land which had regularly been subject to hazard reduction compared to land where the management of fuel levels was by and large ignored. The amendments will address this shortcoming by facilitating the establishment of bushfire management committees, in areas where they have not already been formed, to engage in planning activities and the preparation of fuel management plans. The second major lesson to be learnt is that the co-ordination system currently in place for bush fire fighting can be improved and enhanced. This will be achieved by extending the powers of the chief co-ordinator of bush fire fighting in certain circumstances and thereby streamlining command and control responsibilities and the ability to manage and deploy bush fire fighting resources.

The Cabinet committee's work is by no means complete. There is a range of other issues arising from the bushfire operations which are and will be addressed. Among others they include: communications, the use of aircraft and other equipment in bushfire operations, and evacuations and road closures. These issues and others will be dealt with in a further report of the Cabinet committee in due course. I commend the bill, but in doing so, I say that tonight a decision needs to be made. If we do not move to a third reading tonight we are lacking the courage, the commitment and the recognition of the heroism of the firefighters, who have done a superb job. It is clear what needs to be done and we need to make a decision tonight. I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned on motion by Mr Anderson.

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