Hazard reduction works boosted
16th September 2009Ministerial media release
Emergency Services Minister Steve Whan today said favourable weather and increased spending had led to a 20 per cent improvement in the rate of hazard reduction works completed over the past year.
Mr Whan said the State's fire services, councils, land managers and owners had worked tirelessly to take advantage of favourable conditions to conduct hazard reduction burns.
"Data collected to date by the Rural Fire Service indicates that about 70 per cent of the ambitious schedule of programmed hazard reduction activities will have been completed in 2008/09," he said.
"This is up from 58 per cent the previous year. This is testament to the determined efforts of our fire services and land agencies to use every window of opportunity to complete as much of their scheduled works program as possible.
"Agencies across NSW are on track to achieve more hazard reduction and protect more homes than we have seen in a number of years," Mr Whan said.
"This Government knows we can never be complacent about hazard reduction, which is why we have boosted spending for hazard reduction and fire trails by $36 million over four years.
"This included funding for the RFS to hire seasonal works crews to assist with hazard reduction work. These crews carry out the labour-intensive preparatory works such as cutting containment lines, leaving our firefighters to concentrate on conducting safe, effective burns.
"On top of this $9 million annual increase, this year's budget included another $8 million to help the elderly and vulnerable to reduce their bushfire risk and employ seasonal work crews to assist firefighters with hazard reduction burns."
Mr Whan said NSW had developed an integrated, cohesive and coordinated approach to bushfire prevention, encompassing a suite of carefully-developed strategies and measures to help minimise bush fire risk.
"In 2007/08, the bushfire risk was reduced for more than 185,000 properties worth more than $92 billion, through a combination of bushfire mitigation activities, including hazard reduction burning and clearing, community education and development controls.
"In 2008/09, preliminary figures reported to the RFS indicate that this risk has been reduced for 200,000 properties worth $100 billion."
Mr Whan said firefighters were continuing to work to protect the community in the lead-up to the bushfire season, with 37 hazard reduction burns carried out across the State last weekend and more planned in Sydney this weekend.
"Firefighters from all agencies across the State are using every available opportunity to increase the number of properties and communities better protected by hazard reduction," he said.
"Residents in all bush fire prone communities should follow the lead set by our firefighters and begin their preparations for the fire season," Mr Whan said.
RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said all residents in bush fire prone areas needed to prepare their properties and homes now ahead of the fire season.
"Hazard reduction is an essential and effective tool when fighting bush fires, however it is one of a number of tools we use to protect properties. The best defence against a bush fire is a well prepared property," he said.
Hazard reduction works boosted (PDF 28KB)