Royal Commission into bushfires will examine whether bush homes should be banned
Australians could be banned from building their homes in bushland that cannot be defended from fire as the federal government prepares to examine the horrific fire season.
VIC News
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The bushfires royal commission will examine whether people should be banned from building their homes in the bush.
The terms of reference released by Prime Minister Scott Morrison show it will investigate “land-use planning, zoning and development approvals, including building standards”.
This will look at whether people should be allowed to build homes in areas that cannot be defended from fire, such as on the urban fringes around Melbourne.
It would also look at the fire-resistant standards homes must be built to in areas deemed at risk of fire.
And in what looms as a major flashpoint, the Victorian Government, unlike the other Labor states, has so far not agreed to co-operate with the royal commission.
Premier Daniel Andrews and United Firefighters Union chief Peter Marshall have previously spoken out against the need for a royal commission.
Victoria established its own independent inquiry into the devastating fires here, which will probe the effectiveness of the state’s operational response, including large-scale evacuations.
A state government spokeswoman said they would review the commission’s letters patent carefully “before making a final decision as to whether the state signs up to the royal commission”.
It is believed if Victoria does not agree to the letters patent, the legal instrument establishing the royal commission, the commissioners will not be able to compel Victorian officials to appear before it and give evidence.
Mr Morrison said the scale of the “Black Summer’’ bushfires presented new challenges for all levels of government, which required a detailed national inquiry.
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He denied the commission was an attempt to find fault with the states’ handling of issues such as hazard reduction, and said it was to find better ways for the commonwealth, states and territories to work together to prepare for, mitigate and respond to fires.
Commissioner Mark Binskin, a former chief of the Australian Defence Force, will be joined by two further commissioners, former Federal Court judge Dr Annabelle Bennett SC, and climate risk specialist Professor Andrew Macintosh. The inquiry, which will hand down its findings by August 31, is likely to kick off with public hearings within weeks.