Victorian government hides bushfire risk data

The Andrews government is refusing to release critical bushfire risk reports as Victorians enter a high risk El Nino summer.

Forest Fire Management Victoria has not reported on the bushfire risk the state faces since June 2021.

Victorians are about to enter an El Nino summer with no idea of the fire danger they face from the build-up of fuel loads across the state.

The Andrews government and Forest Fire Management Victoria managers have not released any residual risk fuel load reports since 2020-21.

Forest Fire Management Victoria’s managers, who are responsible for conducting fuel reduction burns, rejected The Weekly Times request for residual risk numbers for 2021-22 and 2022-23, simply stating they will be published “in due course”.

The refusal follows FFMVic falling behind on reaching its fuel reduction burns and mechanical hazard reductions in Victoria’s most dangerous Port Phillip bushfire zone, extending from Melbourne out to Kinglake, the Yarra Ranges and Bunyip State Park.

The Port Phillip zone’s residual risk has risen from 39 per cent in the wake of Black Saturday in 2009 to 85 per cent by June 30, 2021.

A risk level of 100 per cent equates to no fuel reduction burns being conducted at all, which would result in a fire with maximum fuel loads and property losses.

Past attempts to gain access to fuel load maps have also proven fruitless, with freedom of information requests rejected by Premier Dan Andrews and his former Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville in 2020 on the basis they could be used by arsonists to target high fuel-load zones.

Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh said the community “should be very alarmed that there’s been no reports on residual bushfire risk since June 2021.

“This is just another example of the contempt the Andrews government holds Victorians in, when it comes to being open, honest and transparent,” he said.

FFMVic chief fire officer Chris Hardman said: “We know that after three years of La Nina weather patterns, we’ll likely see a return of El Nino in the second half of this year with its associated drier and warmer weather – creating a larger bushfire risk.”

“These conditions will be closely monitored to identify emerging risks and any potential for an earlier start to Victoria’s bushfire season.”

“Our year-round program reducing bushfire risk and planned burning is underpinned by evidence, local knowledge and continuous improvement – ensuring FFMVic’s efforts are directed where they will have the greatest impact.”

FFMVic’s refusal to supply bushfire risk updates follows Fire Rescue Victoria’s failure to supply Victoria’s Fire Services Implementation Monitor Niall Blair with critical data on fire fatalities, operational fleet availability, or structural and road rescue response times since September last year.