Years of rain fuel bushfire danger

Australia is ‘much better prepared’ for the next drought to hit but the threat of bushfires will put new emergency response systems to the test.

A bushfire in Montrose, west of Kogan. in Queensland, in early 2023.

Australia is “much better prepared” for the next drought to hit but, as the nation heads towards a dry summer, the threat of bushfires will put new emergency response systems to the test.

Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said recent high rainfall seasons had led to ­significant growth, which heightened the likelihood of dangerous grass fires if Australia moves to a “drier cycle” of weather, as has been ­predicted.

“There is a real risk, especially on the back of floods, that a lot of rural communities might face bushfires,” Senator Watt said.

“We’ve already started work with states and territories around preparing for this disaster season.”

The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts there is about a 70 per cent chance this year of El Nino, a climate phenomenon that typically leads to reduced rainfall and increased temperatures in Australia, resulting in drought conditions and heightened risk of bushfires.

Emergency management ministers from across Australia will meet in Brisbane in August as the nation’s fire chiefs also gather to discuss plans for the summer.

“We’ve deliberately coincided the two meetings so that we can be working together and really start pushing through on a bushfire preparation plan,” Senator Watt said.

“That means we’re able to do much more joint planning than has happened before.”

Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

The upcoming season will be a major test for the new Australian Fire Danger Rating System, which was developed last year and is being further refined.

Under the changes, Australia now has a nationally consistent system for rating the level of fire danger, simplified down to four ­different levels, as well as “off”.

The new system uses 22 different subtypes of fuel, such as grass or forest, to determine how a fire will burn in a particular area to ensure communities are better warned of the different risks.

Even without fires, farmers are being warned to brace for drier than average conditions, but Senator Watt said significant investment since the 2019 drought meant many landowners were now much better equipped to survive another one.

“Traditionally, the way that governments have dealt with drought is massive handouts to keep them going,” the minister said. “But it’s actually better for farmers – and certainly better for taxpayers – if we can be doing that investment upfront so people are better prepared and are able to stand on their own two feet a bit more than what they’ve been able to do in the past.”

Senator Watt said that in recent years there had been a “bipartisan ­approach” to drought funding at the federal level, with Labor maintaining the ­Future Drought Fund established under the previous Coalition ­government to invest $100m a year in drought-preparedness ­projects.

Research into drought-resistant grasses to provide food for livestock, ­planting more resilient crops and developing infrastructure to conserve water are among other initiatives funded by government.