❓ Clarification sought on whether accidental burning of native vegetation is considered illegal clearing under the Environmental Protection Act 1986, and if landholders are liable for escaped fires. The answer clarifies that genuine accidents without negligence are not offences.
AnsweredQoN 1778Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) Is the accidental burning of native vegetation considered under the policies of the Department of Environment and Conservation to be clearing as defined by section 51A of the
Environmental Protection Act 1986
?
(2) Under the departmental policies would a landholder be in breach of section 51C of the
Environmental Protection Act 1986
or commit an offence if a fire escaped containment and burnt native vegetation?
Environmental Protection Act 1986
?
(2) Under the departmental policies would a landholder be in breach of section 51C of the
Environmental Protection Act 1986
or commit an offence if a fire escaped containment and burnt native vegetation?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
21 March 2007
Responded by
Minister for the Environment
Response time
22 days
(2) If fire escaped containment and was a genuine accident rather than negligence no offence would be committed. Otherwise, the Department's enforcement policy would apply, which is aimed at ensuring that the outcome of any enforcement action is consistent, fair and assists in achieving environmental objectives.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.