Call for fires inquiry as Coalition questions burn-offs target

Victoria’s opposition has called for a parliamentary inquiry into the state’s horror fire season.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: AAP

Victoria’s opposition has called for a parliamentary inquiry into the state’s horror fire season, arguing a probe being led by Inspector General of Emergency Management Tony Pearce is not independent enough.

It alleges Mr Pearce gave ­advice that led to the Andrews government failing to meet Black Saturday royal commission targets for planned burning.

The calls from Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien come as firefighting crews in Victoria, NSW and South Australia make the most of cooler weather to build containment lines.

The only warning in place on Monday afternoon was a watch-and-act for a fire burning southwest of Canberra in the Namadgi National Park, with a smoke plume visible from the capital.

Mr O’Brien said the bushfires were “too important” not to warrant an independent public ­inquiry. “The Inspector General of Emergency Management is a good man, but the fact remains: his advice led to (Premier) Daniel Andrews walking away from the bushfire royal commission targets on planned burning,” Mr O’Brien said.

“He’s not the right person to conduct an inquiry into this summer’s bushfires.

“We need to know whether that walking away from the bushfire royal commission targets on planned burning contributed to the factors that led to this summer’s bushfires being as bad as they were.”

The 2009 royal commission recommended annual planned burning of 5 per cent of public land. The 5 per cent target has never been reached in the intervening years, with 1.7 per cent of public land subject to burns in 2018-19.

Mr Andrews defended Mr Pearce, saying he was “in no way ­conflicted”. “He’s got 30-plus years of skill and experience and he will do an outstanding job, as he always does,” Mr Andrews said.

“Why would you need to (hold a parliamentary inquiry) if you’ve got a standing officer who’s not caught up in any of the politics of this? (Mr Pearce is) there to do a job, and he’s an outstanding person, someone we’ve worked with very closely, the previous government worked with as well in lots of different ways, federal governments have worked with him. He’s worked with lots of different agencies and he’s always shown himself to be a very straight shooter who does an excellent job, and that’s exactly what you want from him.

“I don’t think we need to be turning this into a parliamentary circus.”