Gold Coast fire risk: We all need to rally to fix burning issue

At least 56 per cent of the Gold Coast’s total area is exposed to bushfire. We all love the green behind the gold. But how fire resilient is this city? Paul Weston weighs in

AT least 56 per cent of the Gold Coast’s total area is exposed to bushfire. We all love the green behind the gold. But the question is just how fire resilient the city is.

The issue is burning in the local government poll.

Division 7 candidate Rob Taylor has said on Facebook it is a “disgrace” that the council fails to maintain fire breaks, and has raised concerns about a burnt-out car next to long grass at Molendinar.

Gold Coast City Council’s latest bushfire hazard overlay map shows plenty of areas are at risk.

But some property owners at least acknowledge the council’s dilemma. They say that as soon as officers notify a suburb about a backburn, there will be thousands of complaints.

Ask Hinterland councillors and they say all the backburning needed in their divisions is done.

The situation is complex. Backburning must be conducted in the cooler months, and the winds need to drop for the crews to start work on the ground.

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In recent months the Hinterland skies turned grey. The state started national park burns at the same time as the council.

Councillors complained about the poor communication between agencies. Some contacted me, upset about elderly people being reluctant to leave their homes.

The blanket media coverage of the unprecedented fires down south has changed public opinion. Some residents are now asking councillors to organise hazard burns.

What is the reality of the fire risk?

Fires raging in the Gold Coast Hinterland in September last year. Picture: Dirk Klynsmith/dirkklynsmithphotography.com

Councillors at their last full council meeting ticked off on a document titled City of Gold Coast Bushfire Resilience Framework. The 25-page report make interesting reading.

Mapping shows more than 51,000 ha – 37 per cent of the city’s total area – is considered either a very high, high or medium bushfire hazard. Another 19 per cent is within a 100m buffer to this danger zone.

About 41,797 structures, including houses, and commercial and industrial buildings, are at some level of risk, and almost a third of them are managed by the council rather than the state.

The report reveals council officers are already considering “climate change effects” and, in mapping, looking at adjusted temperatures and humidity. Their recommendation is ongoing research.

“Southeast Queensland’s projected climate change outcomes could have wide-ranging effects on both natural and human systems, and affect many social, economic and environmental values,” the report says.

Smoke haze from bushfires obscures the skyline on the beach at Surfers Paradise in September last year. Picture: AAP Image/Tim Marsden

“It is a complex challenge for land managers to develop processes to manage the impact of climate change for a number of scenarios, including bushfire hazard and risk.”

One solution highlighted in the report was to consider the positive impacts of burning that occurred before European settlement. Council officers are starting talks with traditional owners.

A council source said: “With the indigenous burning and climate change, all of this is being considered by the administration.”

The council is required by the state to provide for an extra 158,900 dwellings by 2041. But a key objective in the bushfire resilience framework is “zero increase in new development exposed to risk”.

The fire front at Beechmont in the Gold Coast Hinterland in November last year. Picture: Aaron Kearney

How will this play out? Developers will have to come up with better bushfire management plans to get approvals. If we live in the green, we must be more vigilant about protecting

our homes.

The smoke has cleared from the backburning we complained about before Christmas. We all have a bigger role to play here.