Veteran NSW fire captain Bruce Richardson is demanding volunteers like him be heard at a national fire inquiry, blasting "crazy" bureaucratic red tape stopping hazard reduction burns and national parks for locking up fire trails.
In evidence of a split between some volunteers on the fire front and the NSW Rural Fire Service headquarters, Mr Richardson said the RFS, National Parks and Wildlife Service and governments must "get their act together" on fuel reduction before bushfire season.
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John Kehoe is economics editor at Parliament House, Canberra. He writes on economics, politics and business. John was Washington correspondent covering Donald Trump’s first election. He joined the Financial Review in 2008 from Treasury. Connect with John on Twitter. Email John at jkehoe@afr.com