State News - March 2007
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28/03/07 Climate zones to disappear , James Randerson, London, Guardianp; Andes, Indonesia ; Brazil; African Rift Mountains, Zambian and Angolan highlands, South African Cape region, south-east Australia, Himalayas and the ArcticClimate State
29/03/07 Victoria falls behind on burn-offs, Orietta Guerrera, The Age; Otways ; | Gippsland; | East Gippsland and Goolengook ; | Central Highlands; | Mallee; | Melbourne; | Murray Basin |Wimmera |22/03/07 Farmers sue state over bushfires, The Age; Wimmera
17/03/07 Farmers launch class action over bushfire losses, Cameron Houston, The Age; North East Highlands;
17/03/07 Counting the cost of bushfires, Orietta Guerrera, The Age
13/03/07 ENVIRONMENTALISTS CHARGE PARKS VICTORIA WITH ILLEGAL LOGGING, Media release ; Central Highlands; Melbourne
Orietta Guerrera, The Age
March 29, 2007
THE State Government is running behind in this year's program to reduce bushfire fuel, with the prolonged fire season leaving only a small window of opportunity for burn-offs.
After weekend rain helped ease the bushfire risk, Department of Sustainability and Environment fire chief Ewan Waller said burn-offs across the state would be increased in the next few weeks.
If favourable weather continues, about 130 burn-offs totalling 20,000 hectares have been planned for the next week alone.
While more than 70 burn-offs have been lit already this year, Mr Waller said that because of the dry conditions most had been small and close to towns and settlements to protect critical assets.
"We would have liked to be burning more already," he said. "We're probably two or three weeks behind where we want to be."
Burn-offs in grassland around Melbourne's water catchments and areas in the Otways, Grampians, Croajingolong, and Murray-Sunset national parks are some of the priorities this year.
More than 20 fuel-reduction burns were under way in Victoria yesterday. One of the largest was a 1037-hectare fire in the Bete Bolong state forest in East Gippsland.
Residents and holiday makers may encounter smoky conditions, with the program to continue during Easter and school holidays.
An ill-fated burn-off at Wilsons Promontory in April 2005, which jumped containment lines, blackened 6200 hectares of bushland and forced the evacuation of 600 campers, prompted the Government to boost resources and introduce new safety measures.
Mr Waller said there would be few burns around major holiday spots this year.
"If the weather's with us, we'll go right through into winter, and then pick it up again in earnest in spring," he said.
A spokesman for Environment Minister John Thwaites said some of the extra resources in the lead-up to the summer bushfires would stay on and help with the burn-off program.
http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/fires
March 22, 2007, The Age
Hundreds of Victorian farmers affected by the state's bushfire crisis are to launch a multi-million dollar class action against the state government.
More than 500 farmers and businesses who had suffered massive losses after bushfires on government land spread to private properties would be seeking compensation "in the tens of millions of dollars," a lawyer for the group, Charles Slidders, said today.
The group will argue that state authorities failed to adequately carry out backburning and fuel reduction operations, causing wildfires to spread.
Mr Slidders, of Melbourne law firm Slidders Lawyers, said many claimants involved had lost virtually everything they owned and the class action would encompass victims of bushfires dating back to the 2003 alpine crisis.
"Some members of the class action have lost a lot of property as a result of the bushfires in recent years," he said. 'In the 2005 Grampians bushfires, one woman lost all her property - a woolshed, two residences, hayshed, stockyards, lighting generator, 200 acres (80 hectares) of bluegum crop - everything.
"Every farmer who has suffered damage from fires spreading from government land is a party to the proceeding."
Mr Slidders said the government had been negligent in maintaining national parks and had repeatedly ignored warnings to remove forest undergrowth which had fuelled various fires, in turn leading to the loss of farmland, property and livestock.
"Our argument is the state government failed to appropriately manage forest back-burning and fuel reduction operations - it has an obligation ... to help prevent forest fires and to reduce the consequences from fire spreading onto private property.
"We have an exceptionally strong case and the government is on notice."
Mr Slidders said the first stage would be to open a dialogue with the government - specifically the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), Parks Victoria and Environment Minister John Thwaites.
The hope was that the government would set up a compensation commission to determine losses on an individual basis. But if it failed to do so, the class action would be pursued all the way to the Supreme Court, he said.
"People need to be compensated for their losses - whether they've got a damaged fencepost or have lost several kilometres of fencing.
"We will be asking the government to consider alternative options. We don't want to go through the courts, but we will if we have to."
AAP
Cameron Houston, The Age
March 17, 2007
HUNDREDS of Victorian farmers whose properties were devastated by bushfires are set to launch a multimillion-dollar court action against the State Government over its failure to back burn in national parks.
Several of the state's worst bushfires, including those in the Grampians in 2005 and last December's fires, are believed to have started in national parks, managed by the Department of Sustainability and Environment.
The fires that ravaged north-eastern Victoria in 2003 were triggered by lightning strikes in the Alpine National Park and led to the loss of 41 homes, 3000 kilometres of fencing and more than 11,000 cattle.
Slidders Lawyers partner Charles Slidders is mounting the class action on behalf of more than 500 farmers. He said the Government, DSE and Parks Victoria failed in their obligation to maintain national parks to prevent the spread of fires.
"The common law of negligence also imposes a duty on the Government to take all reasonable action to prevent foreseeable damage to neighbouring properties, including damage caused by spreading fires," he said.
Mr Slidders called on the Bracks Government to establish a compensation commission to determine farmers' losses.
"A failure to adequately compensate farmers will result in representative proceedings being issued on behalf of farmers in the Supreme Court of Victoria," he said.
Mr Slidders said DSE had ignored repeated warnings to remove forest undergrowth. The undergrowth had fuelled the fires and contributed to the loss of farmland and livestock. In 2003, the Victorian Auditor-General warned of a "consistent failure to achieve all of the Department of Sustainability and Environment's hazard reduction targets" after the devastating fires in north-eastern Victoria.
Victorian Farmers Federation president Simon Ramsay said his organisation was not party to the class action. But he criticised the Bracks Government's record on forest management and fire prevention.
"We understand there will be farmers who are frustrated and disappointed at the Government's handling of its responsibility to manage public land," he said. "The State Government is not managing public lands efficiently … They take no responsibility for shared fencing when it's burnt, they don't provide appropriate buffers and they don't respond quickly to fires in public land."
A spokesman for Environment Minister John Thwaites said yesterday the Government did not believe there was a valid legal claim against it. But if a claim was brought, it would be dealt with in the courts.
A DSE spokeswoman refused to comment. State Parliament this week agreed on the terms of reference for an inquiry into the management of national parks and Crown land.
Former Victorian chief fire officer Athol Hodgson said DSE had failed to meet fuel reduction targets for more than two decades. The problem had been exacerbated by the drought.
"The number of firefighters that DSE has available for rapid response to lightning strike fires has also been significantly reduced," he said.
Orietta Guerrera, The Age
March 17, 2007
THE smoky haze may have lifted from Melbourne's skyline but the devastating bushfire season isn't over yet and the toll continues to rise.
There have been 1008 fires on public land this season — only the second time in Victoria's recorded history that more than 1000 fires have been recorded in a season. The cost of the fires is likely to exceed $180 million.
At the peak of this summer's Great Divide fires, more than 4300 firefighters, 600 tankers, 180 bulldozers and 60 aircraft were involved. The blazes took 69 days to contain.
"We did think we were in for an incredibly difficult season, and I think everyone would agree, particularly those living in north-eastern Victoria and Gippsland, that that's what we've had," says Liam Fogarty, the Department of Sustainability and Environment's assistant chief fire officer.
With predictions that the state's bushfire risk will escalate with climate change, this summer's fires — coming so soon after the horrific 2003 alpine blazes — have raised urgent questions about what needs to be done to reduce the effects of such "megafires".
"Is it the build-up of fuels, is it the drought, or is it climate change? Or is it a combination of all those things?" says Kevin O'Loughlin, head of Melbourne's Bushfire Co-operative Research Centre. "There's a need for more research to just understand what's going on."
A study by the CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology into the effects of climate change on weather in south-east Australia has foreshadowed more frequent and intense fires, as well as longer fire seasons.
The number of days with very high and extreme bushfire risk are likely to jump by 4 per cent-25 per cent by 2020, and 15 per cent-70 per cent by 2050.
The report also warns that suitable times for fuel-reduction burns could change and shrink.
Mr Fogarty says authorities are already experiencing this. This summer's prolonged bushfire season has left only a short period to carry out such action.
This year, about 600 firefighters will stay on until late next month to help with fuel-reduction burns. However, Kevin Hennessy, from the CSIRO's climate impact and risk team, says that is only one challenge.
He says more volunteer firefighters, new fire-fighting techniques, better weather forecasts and evacuation procedures, and better planning will all be necessary. "What's needed is a comprehensive assessment of the costs and benefits of different strategies for managing fire over the coming decades," he says.
Emergency Services Commissioner Bruce Esplin says the state cannot continue to suffer such bushfire tolls.
From next week, Mr Esplin and his team will begin visiting towns that were hit by this season's bushfires. They will gather information for a report into how practices have changed since the 2003 bushfires.
Those fires burned more than 1.3 million hectares, destroyed 41 homes and claimed one life.
"I've had the luxury of going to places in the state and seeing the regeneration and it never ceases to amaze me about how resilient the bush is, how it bounces back," Mr Esplin says.
"But it can't bounce back if it gets burnt out every three years in a really hot wildfire."
The experts also agree that those who choose to live in the thick of forested areas must do more to protect themselves.
"Clearly, it's a drain on the public purse to defend these areas," Mr O'Loughlin says. "There are things home owners, and prior to that town planners, can do to reduce the risk."
■1008 fires on public land
■ 4700 bush, scrub and grassfires attended by CFA
■ 2.5 million hours worked to battle the blazes
■ $170-180 million cost to fight bushfires
■ 1.1 million hectares of public land burnt
■ 2100 hectares of pine plantations burnt
■ 69 days to contain the Great Divide Fires
■ 19,000 firefighters from CFA, DSE, interstate and overseas deployed for Great Divide Fires 51 houses lost
■ 221 sheds lost
■ 1858 kilometres of fencing burnt
■ 1000 hectares of field crops lost
■ $5 million losses to East Gippsland Shire business because of tourism cancellations
■ 11 days of poor air quality in Melbourne and Geelong during bushfire season
■ $18 million estimated loss in tourism revenue in Wellington Shire alone this year because of bushfires
■ 403 sheep killed
■ $2.5-$4 million cost to secure water supply for East Gippsland residents impacted by fire
■ 35,000 small bales of hay lost
■ 965 cows killed
■ 18,000 hectares of pasture lost
■ 1 man died after being run over by a fire tanker while fighting a deliberately lit fire at Coopers Creek.
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MEDIA RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday 13 March, 2007
ENVIRONMENTALISTS CHARGE PARKS VICTORIA WITH ILLEGAL LOGGING
Concerned citizens are currently occupying the Melbourne office of
Parks Victoria.
They are dressed as eco police and intend to make a citizen's arrest
over illegal logging of Victoria's National Parks and Rainforests.
Illegal logging has been occurring in Melbourne's water catchments
along a 36km stretch of the Yarra Ranges National Park, bordering
Woods Point Rd, since December. This area contains known habitat for
endangered species such as the Leadbeaters possum.
Government officials have confirmed that Parks Victoria has authorised
this illegal logging operation and is profiting from the sale of the
logs.
A spokesperson for the group, David Hammerton, said, "We are
particularly concerned this is just the beginning of a planned larger
illegal logging operation. We have reason to believe illegal logging
will continue through critically important pristine areas of
rainforest within the Yarra Ranges National Park."
"It is particularly shameful illegal logging is happening under the
guise of 'fire-protection'. In a similar case in 2003, the Auditor
General found illegal logging under the guise of fire protection
actually increased the risk of fire to the area." Mr Hammerton
continued.
The 2005 Auditor General's Results of Special Reviews and
Investigations report on illegal logging in the Snowy River National
Park in 2003 found these operations breached the following acts:
• National Parks Act (Cth) 1975
• Forest Act (Vic) 1958
• Accident Compensation (Occupational Health and Safety) Act (Vic) 1996
• Code of Practice of Fire Management on Public Land
• Code of Practice for Safety in Forest Operations
• Code of Practice for Timber Production
It is reasonable to believe current illegal logging will breach all
the above acts, as well as:
• Environmental Protection Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act (Cth) 1999
• Regional Forest Agreement Act (Cth) 2002
The group is concerned the illegal logging will further increase the
risk of devastating fire to Melbourne's Water Catchments. "Large
amounts waste wood from the illegal logging operation has been left on
the ground. This waste is highly flammable, greatly increasing the
fire risk to the National Park, water catchment and surrounding
properties." Beth Nathan, facilitator of the Cross Campus Environment
Network, said.
Parks Victoria's website states it is "dedicated to preserving the
natural and heritage values of the parks, bays, and waterways,
including full protection of sensitive areas". Ms Nathan continued,
"We call on Parks Victoria to adhere to its publicly stated values,
which the community expects it to do, and immediately cease all
illegal logging operations and rehabilitate the affected areas."
For further comments call:
David Hammerton, 0439 610 116.
Lenka Sraj, 0408 374 831 or Claire McCall, 0412 656 017.
Photo opportunities available outside the Parks Victoria Office, 535
Burke St, from 9:30am.