‘Lost opportunities’: Dwindling hazard reduction work reignite fears four years after horror Black Summer

The amount of hazard reduction work completed since Black Summer has fallen year on year, with calls for landholders to have more power to prepare for major bushfires.

The state faces another catastrophic bushfire season due to four years of failed hazard reduction by authorities.

Along with declining burn-offs, frustrated landholders claim they are barred from taking action to protect their homes due to reams of red and green tape.

Since the horrific Black Summer bushfires, only 38 per cent of the state’s hazard reduction target was completed over four years.

That includes 15 per cent cleared so far against the 2023-24 target - leaving 274,000ha still at risk this year alone - while last financial year just 28 per cent of the target was completed.

The figures have led to accusations an opportunity to undertake more hazard reduction work amid three wet-weather impacted years has been missed, as well as calls for a review of current legislation landholders say is hobbling their attempts to protect their properties.

Former Bega MP Andrew Constance said the last three years “100 per cent” represented a wasted opportunity to ramp up hazard reduction, saying that people will die as a result.

Martin and Marion Tebbutt are worried another 2019 disaster could befall the area, just four years after Black Summer came within metres of their home. Picture: Richard Dobson

“They’ve missed the boat again and they’ll be busily trying to play catch up in the middle of a fire disaster,” he said.

“You’ve got a case now where those lost opportunities will cost lives in the middle of a fire disaster.”

“We should have absolutely been mechanically using the same contractors on the fire to build buffer zones and fire trails.

“You’ve got to give communities hope – and they don’t get hope when they see nothing change.”

Just four years ago flames from the devastating Black Summer bushfires came within 50 metres of Bilpin resident Martin Tebbutt’s home on the Bells Line of Road.

“The ground cover, which is effectively the kindling, is thicker than 2019 – those fires changed the undergrowth, it’s thicker,” he said.

“Overall, I think it’s terrifying – particularly because there’s so much fuel.”

“This green agenda is killing us. Thirty of forty years ago, we’d use a bit of common sense, and we were worried about it, we’d burn something off, or slash it, or cut off.”

Under current rules, landholders wanting to conduct hazard reduction burning from October to March need to apply for a fire permit with the RFS, which can only be issued by authorised permit issuing officers.

A firefighter on property protection watches the progress of bushfires in Old Bar, NSW, Saturday, during Black Summer. (AAP Image/Darren Pateman)

Some burns require environmental approval such as an RFS Bush Fire Hazard Reduction Certificate, which can take weeks to be approved.

Jamie Warden, a farmer at Walgett in northwest NSW where last month a fire ripped through more than 20,000 hectares, voiced frustration over the current rules.

“If we had a heap of farmers able to do what we wanted to do, we could have probably had it out in about a week – it ended up burning for about two and a half weeks,” he said of the recent fire.

“Within the next month, if we haven’t had any good rain, we’ll be under major threat again.”

“We all know if a fire starts, you don’t have a month …(to have) a bureaucrat come out and sign off on (hazard reduction work). You’ve got hours to make a decision.”

Shadow emergency services spokesman Gurmesh Singh, an RFS volunteer himself, said that process needed to be reviewed, adding “more should have been done” to reduce fuel load since autumn this year.

“I think we can all agree we need to work more collaboratively across government and party lines to remove some of the red tape that’s crept in over the years in regard to hazard reduction,” he said.

“The process for land owners and neighbours to initiate hazard reductions needs to be reviewed and we would support the government in implementing the findings before the next fire season, because it’s too late for this season.”

RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers said he rejected the allegation not enough had been done, rubbishing the claim more mechanical clearing should have been done to catch up on hazard reduction targets.

He said last year 8000 hectares of mechanical clearing had been completed along property boundaries: “It doesn’t sound a huge amount, but if it’s a strip 20 metres wide, it’s a huge area because it’s a lineal strip”.

Former Coalition Minister Andrew Constance. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“I reject that we don’t try everything else – we do,” he said.

“The state’s been flooded – I don’t know what people think we can do when the joint is underwater.

“National Parks, State Forests, they haven’t been able to do it either. It’s a bit simplistic to say we should have done more – there’s no benefit in us not doing more, so we’re happy to do more when we can.”

“We shouldn’t underestimate how much rain fell over the last few years. Areas were literally underwater … It’s not like we were sitting around twiddling our thumbs, our brigades were engaged assisting flood affected communities.”

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, parts of Greater Sydney recorded their wettest year on record, with about two times the annual average of rainfall striking the region.

He said landholders already had the freedom – under rules like the “10-50 code” which allows them to clear trees within 10 metres of their property and bush within 50 metres without prior approval – to undertake clearing work.

“There’s a lot that people can already do – they’ve just got to do it,” he said.

He said the service was “doing our absolute best” to hit their 2023-2024 target.

“(The) government has given us an additional $10n to employ more staff to do midweek hazard reduction work while volunteers are mostly working. So if the planets align I hope we can do it,” he said.

Emergency services Minister Jihad Dib added he was confident as much hazard reduction has been done as possible.

“We recognise where we haven’t been able to meet that target … it’s not because there hasn’t been a desire to do hazard reduction, but there’s circumstances beyond our control,” he said.

“We’re not stopping people conducting hazard reductions. The RFS across the board is willing to work with landowners and landholders, it’s not like the window was not there for people to conduct their own land clearing.

“I’d like to think we’ve done the best hazard reduction we can given the circumstances. Our priorities are always life and property.”