A firefighter tackling a bushfire at Winmalee in October 2013. Photo: Janie Barrett
Residents in bushfire-prone regions of NSW will be given greater scope to clear vegetation close to homes to reduce fire risks under laws proposed by the Baird government.
Households will be allowed to clear trees with 10 metres and shrubs and other vegetation within 50 metres of their homes.
‘‘We’re putting people before trees,’’ Premier Mike Baird told reporters in Sydney on Thursday. ‘‘This is empowering individuals.’’
The laws were first mooted late last year after bushfires in the Blue Mountains in October destroyed more than 200 homes and damaged more than 100 others. They also come as the prospects of an El Nino weather event in the Pacific increase; the resulting dry, warm conditions would raise the chances of another early and busy fire season.
“We have worked closely with the (Rural Fire Service) to develop these new rules which will empower landowners who are taking responsibility for minimising the fuel loads near their homes – a key fire prevention goal,” Mr Baird said.
A report following the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria by Philip Gibbons from the Australian National University found that clearing trees and shrubs within 40 metres of homes was the most effective method of fuel reduction.
Ross Bradstock, from the University of Wollongong’s Centre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires, said land clearing could be beneficial in reducing the threat fires pose to houses but only if residents avoid planting gardens that nullified the benefits.
“There’s certainly evidence that clearing of this kind can contribute to a significant reduction of risk,” Professor Bradstock said. “However, things like garden design particularly close into the house - which are not necessarily captured by this [policy] - can be very, very important.”
RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers welcomed the new laws: “We need to ensure the community is as prepared as possible for bushfire and these changes will give residents the flexibility they need to clear their property from bushfire risk.”
Trent Penman, a senior research scientist at the Wollongong centre, agreed that vegetation clearing near homes could educe the risk of a second ignition source other than from ember attack.
Land clearing, though, has the potential to destabilise slopes and ridges, creating other threats to properties, particularly in the Blue Mountains, Ku-ring-gai Chase and the Illawarra Escarpment region near Wollongong.
“You might remove the trees but then you end up with unstable land surface that might slip under heavy rain,” Dr Penman said. While ridge-tops could be undermined, “at the bottom of the ridge you don’t want things falling on your head, either”, he said.
Councils and the RFS could also find themselves with additional monitoring roles without the extra resources needed to manage them. “It will create a lot of extra work for them,” Dr Penman said.
The RFS's Mr Rogers said residents would be able to identify whether clearing posed any land-slip risks from maps that will be made available once the laws are passed.
He said that there was "no silver bullet" when it comes to reducing fire risks and residents in bushfire prone areas should continue to keep in contact with their local RFS unit and maintain a bushfire survival plan.
Threatened communities, species
Greg Banks, a former RFS staffer and now the bushfire policy officer for the NSW Nature Conservation Council, said the loosening of clearing rules could make communities less prepared.
“Under the existing process, it requires people to engage with the RFS so that they come out and have a look at their property before issuing a hazard-reduction certicate to clear,” Mr Banks said.
Contact with fire experts can also assist homeowners to identify evacuation routes and even the preservation of some vegetation that might now be cleared, he said. “Some vegetation can prove very useful in providing a barrier to embers.”
Tensions may also increase among residents of areas fringing bushland, such as Hornsby, Mosman and the Sutherland shire, many of whom have chosen to live in those regions because of the natural environment.
"Are they going to be pressured...to do something on those properties because their neighbours already have?," Mr Banks said.
The Greens said the new laws would also give a “carte blanche” to the destruction of sensitive native habitat.
“Trees and scrub are essential vegetation for native animals, especially as effects of climate change continue to take place, so it is essential to retain oversight over clearing,” said Greens MP and environment spokesperson Mehreen Faruqi .