Bushfires Policy Summary

Protecting people and the bush

Bushfire is an integral part of the Australian environment and has been for thousands of years. Aboriginal people used fire to manage the landscape of many parts of the continent. Global warming will inevitably increase both the severity and frequency of bushfires in NSW.

Yet their destructive potential is graphically illustrated by periodic episodes of bushfire that devastate homes, farms and the bush and in extreme cases result in loss of life. A strong government response is essential to protect human life and the natural environment.

The Greens believe that living with bushfire threat requires a coordinated approach that includes:

• planning of housing sites to avoid development in risk prone areas;
• strategically planned hazard reduction, including controlled burning, where  and when climatic conditions allow it to be done safely and where it is consistent with maintaining the ecosystem;
• education and community awareness programs to reduce the incidence of arson; and
• a well funded and managed fire fighting service which can protect human life and homes and contain the spread of fires.

While recognising that controlled burning is only one form of bush fire risk reduction, The Greens have not been responsible for restricting its use. We are committed to an effective and scientifically based approach to hazard reduction, which takes into account the needs of both the human and natural environments.
The location of residential or rural residential development in high bush fire hazard areas increases the level of threat to people and their homes. This is not economically, socially or ecologically sustainable. Development should not be permitted in identified Bushfire Prone Areas, where such development is likely to endanger lives or property or involve substantial protection and suppression costs, including loss of environmental values.

The Greens support:
funding for the development and implementation of state-wide community and school education programs in the prevention of fires (particularly bushfires);
funding for research into arson, anti-arson education and early intervention programs;
resources and adequate training in ecological principles and effective bush fire management to all fire fighting personnel; and
the prohibition of development in areas where it would be difficult or  dangerous to protect dwellings from bushfires.

Follow this link for the full version of The Greens NSW Bush Fire Risk Management Policy.