Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au

Aaron Bunch
Qld fire chief defends fewer hazard burns

Queensland’s top firefighter has fended off Opposition criticism that fewer hazard reduction burns had put some of the state’s communities at greater risk.

January 8, 2020

Queensland’s top firefighter has rejected claims fewer hazard reduction burns have increased the risk of bushfires.

The LNP opposition claimed the Queensland government left communities vulnerable to bushfires by completing only half of the hazard reduction burns planned between 2016 and 2019.

But Queensland Fire and Emergency Service Commissioner Greg Leach says bone-dry conditions and longer bushfire seasons prevented fuel reduction burning in some high-risk areas.

Such burns are one of many tools the fire service uses to manage fire risk, along with community education, fire breaks and vegetation clearing.

“It’s been a long, hot, dry summer here in Queensland and firefighters have fared very well in protecting Queensland communities,” Mr Leach told reporters on Wednesday.

“I’d be very disappointed if there were any concerns being expressed around the performance of QFES staff and volunteers in the way we go around protecting Queensland’s community.”

The Palaszczuk government has been slammed after admitting about half of planned burns were not completed between 2016 to 2019, with LNP Deputy Leader Tim Mander labelling it “gross negligence” in The Courier-Mail on Wednesday.

“What we want to see is those targets met, they’re given for a reason,” Mr Mander told reporters later on Wednesday.

But Mr Leach said the amount of time to safely burn during the year had reduced because the seasons are changing.

“It’s getting more and more difficult to achieve the targets we have because of this lessening window to get the burns done,” he said.

“Our fire season kicked off in July this year, which is unprecedented.

“We’ve got to be very careful when we introduce fire into the landscape that we don’t make the issue worse,” he said.

Mr Leach said with more dry years predicted, hazard reduction burning would need to become strategic and target at-risk communities. 

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Minister Craig Crawford said he was upset the LNP had chosen to criticise QFES as lethal fires continued to rage in Victoria, NSW and South Australia.

“It’s an attack on QFES not an attack on the Palaszczuk government because I don’t set the targets … they set their own targets,” he said.

Mr Crawford said the LNP was attempting to create confusion in the community about hazard reduction burning.

“The argument that vegetation management led to a bad fire season has not been proven to be true,” he said.

QUEENSLAND HAZARD REDUCTION BURNS:

Planned hazard reduction burns (and number completed in brackets) in Queensland:

2016 – 242 (122)

2017 – 225 (131)

2018 – 177 (69)

2019 – 168 (117)

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