Commission calls for new role to co-ordinate bushfire planning

THE Black Saturday royal commission heard more than 15 months of evidence from 434 witnesses and considered 1700 public submissions.

THE Black Saturday royal commission heard more than 15 months of evidence from 434 witnesses and considered 1700 public submissions.

Its final report spans more than 900 pages and makes 67 recommendations, with its findings covering every aspect of the biggest peacetime disaster in Australia's history, from prescribed burning to warning systems to fire refuges to ensuring all school students receive education on the dangers of bushfires.

It calls for an overhaul of the management, structure and interaction of all fire services and the creation of the new position of fire commissioner.

This person would co-ordinate the Country Fire Authority, the Department of Sustainability and Environment on extreme bushfire risk days as well being responsible for preparation.

"The operational response was hindered by differences between agencies systems, processes and procedures,"  the report says. "The problems illustrate systemic failings that led the commission to contemplate organisation change."

The report recommends a greater warning system and that the "stay or go" policy be overhauled but remain. It suggests more fire refuges be built and emphasised the need for evacuation, especially of vulnerable people such as the elderly.

The commission calls for the progressive replacement of all single wire power lines in Victoria with underground cable or "aerial bundled" cable.

"The seriousness of the risk and the need to protect human life are imperatives that Victoria cannot ever ignore," it concludes.

The commission's chairman, Bernard Teague, recommends a tripling of the amount of prescribed burning, saying the Brumby government's reluctance to increase the levels put lives at risk. The report states that the current levels of prescribed burning, 1.7 per cent of public land each year, is "inadequate'' and that the government had maintained a "minimalist approach" to more burn-offs despite several recommendations to increase it.

"The state has allowed the forests to continue accumulating excessive fuel loads, adding to the likelihood of more intense bushfires and thereby placing firefighters and communities at greater risk," it says.

The commission suggests that a national bushfire research centre be established - funded by both the state and federal governments - and the history of bushfires in Australia should be incorporated in the national curriculum to educate students on the continuing risks of fires.

Mr Teague finally suggests the Victorian Auditor-General be given the task of monitoring the implementation of the commission's recommendations and give a progress report in two years.