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NSW councils urged to allow land clearing

NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott has strongly urged local councils in the state to allow residents in bushfire-prone areas to clear firebreaks around their properties.

The Gospers Mountain fire in central NSW in 2020. Picture: Brei Clarke
The Gospers Mountain fire in central NSW in 2020. Picture: Brei Clarke

NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott has strongly urged local councils in the state to allow residents in bushfire-prone areas to clear firebreaks around their properties, following revelations that some councils have ­refused to enact a new code designed to protect fire-ravaged communities.

The Australian on Monday revealed a mix of Labor, independent and Greens members of the Hawkesbury City Council voted to send the new Rural Boundary Clearing Code for “community consultation”, effectively stopping residents from clearing a firebreak of up to 25m around their property.

Homeowners devastated by the Gospers Mountain mega fire that destroyed an area seven times the size of Singapore say they are now “sitting ducks waiting for yet another fire to come around and burn through all the fuel we have surrounding us”.

Mr Elliott, who enacted the code, called on all local councils to permit their residents to commence clearing.

“Landholders rightly expect their councils to make reasonable and informed decisions which will keep their communities safe,” he told The Australian.

“I strongly urge those councils, which have the option, to opt in.”

The code was offered to all councils that were deemed to be at risk of bushfire, but at least one, the Hornsby Shire Council, in the far north of Sydney, has decided to block the code altogether.

Hornsby mayor Philip Ruddock said there were “more appropriate ways” to handle fire risks, and claimed the code could result in the clearing of 1035 hectares of land within the shire for purposes other than protecting properties from fire.

“What we have found in the past is that when you put in place measures which have a broad impact they sometimes have quite unforeseen consequences,” the former federal MP said.

Hornsby mayor Philip Ruddock. Picture: Bianca De Marchi
Hornsby mayor Philip Ruddock. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

Mr Ruddock said Hornsby’s branch of the Rural Fire Service was “very active” and able to manage any fire danger.

However, former NSW transport minister Andrew Constance echoed Mr Elliott’s alarm, accusing the councillors who voted against the code of valuing bushland over human life.

“These people who are working against the code just want to leave it as the status quo, but guess what? If we do that, we are going to have a repeat of the problems we saw during Black Summer and we can’t afford to see that again,” he said.

Mr Constance, who almost lost his own home on the NSW south coast in the Black Summer fires, has become a fierce advocate for stronger bushfire protections. “So many homes were lost (in 2019) because vegetation was not being managed,” he said. “This is about empowering the ­individual landowner to be able to protect their homes.”

Andrew Constance. Picture: Martin Rainer Helmreich
Andrew Constance. Picture: Martin Rainer Helmreich

Mr Constance said the code should be implemented by the councils for two reasons.

“Firstly, this is about empowering the individual landowner to be able to protect their homes, their sheds and their property,” he said.

“But this is also about protecting the lives of the RFS volunteers who have to go and deal with those problems.”

The Rural Fire Service “welcomed” the code being enacted by local councils, as it would allow landholders “the ability to reduce the potential for fires and their spread”.

“Anything that assists landholders meeting their obligations under the Rural Fires Acts is a positive thing,” an RFS spokesman said.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/nsw-councils-urged-to-allow-land-clearing/news-story/11817055ea5a1d5b80d3952cf653cbe3