Clearer bushfire protection laws on their way for landowners
Clearer guidelines around land clearing laws for property owners trying to protect themselves from bushfires could be in place by the end of the year.
Redlands Coast
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BUSHFIRE prevention laws could be come a lot simpler for land owners across the state, with more straightforward vegetation clearing guidelines promised before the end of the year.
Earlier this week Redland City Council Mayor Karen Williams slammed current vegetation clearing laws — which can carry hefty fines if broken — for confusing landholders who were trying to reduce their risk of bushfires.
“At the moment there is inconsistency about what landholders can and can’t clear due to an overlap between state and local government laws,” Cr Williams said.
“For some councils, clearing for bushfire management is assessed against state planning regulations while in others it can be assessed against local planning laws, which is confusing for residents.”
She said a single clear and consistent rule was urgently needed to make it easier for landholders to know how to protect their property legally — something that has continuously caused concern for residents of semirural Mount Cotton.
The worries were echoed by farmers in central Queensland who, according to a state government review released earlier this year, were worried about breaching the state’s vegetation management laws leading into devastating bushfires in their area last year.
Cr Williams said currently Redlands City Council’s City Plan deferred to state bushfire clearing regulations however that was not the case for all local councils.
She said she had written to the Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning earlier this year requesting law reform, after local fires and court decisions relating to vegetation clearing left people scratching their heads about what could and could not be cleared.
A department spokesman said the government was investigating ways to make it easier for landholders to know what vegetation clearing actions could be done on their properties, regardless of their local government area.
“This work is expected to be completed and in place before the end of the year,” the spokesman said.
“This investigation is a result of Recommendation 9 of the 2018 Queensland Bushfires Review Report 2 2018-2019.”
A Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman reminded residents, however, that during a
bushfire emergency they did not need to seek approval or notify authorities before undertaking any vegetation clearing that had been authorised by fire officers including clearing that assisted officers in dealing with a dangerous situation.
“Queensland legislation also ensures that fire officers have the power to authorise clearing wider breaks during an emergency,” the spokeswoman said.
“In an emergency, landholders should always follow the directions of fire officers.”
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