❓ The McGowan Government defends prescribed burning as a primary bushfire mitigation strategy, balancing smoke impacts against bushfire risks. They outline bushfire detection and suppression measures, including satellite imagery, aircraft, and inter-agency collaboration.
AnsweredQoN 3411Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
Given that smoke from fire in native and introduced vegetation can exacerbate cardiovasculor diseases and respiratory diseases such as asthma and emphysema and can cause lung cancer and deaths among community members, fire fighters and those conducting prescribed burns, what steps is the Government taking to: (a) minimise the amount of prescribed burning; and (b) implement rapid detection and at-source suppression of wildfire ignitions?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
26 November 2020
Responded by
Minister for Environment
Response time
8 days
a. The McGowan Government reaffirms its support of prescribed burning as the primary means of reducing combustible fuel and therefore the risk of bushfire to the community and the environment.
In this respect the McGowan Government is faced with the task of balancing the impacts of smoke from prescribed burning against the need to protect our communities from the damaging impacts of bushfires and the higher level of community smoke impacts that such bushfires can cause.
b. The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) uses a range of bushfire detection systems including near real-time satellite imagery, fire lookout towers and spotter aircraft that are primarily used in the south-west of the State, where early warning of bushfire occurrence is essential to ensure rapid response and appropriate suppression activities minimise the impact of bushfires to the community and the environment.
DBCA works closely with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services and local governments in suppressing bushfires under their control. The State has access to a fleet of aerial suppression aircraft, which have been selected and located for their suitability to the operating environment. These aircraft are based at locations throughout the south-west of the State, which are deployed or forward based according to the prevailing conditions, bushfire potential and operational requirements.
I am advised that experience in Western Australia has shown that suppression aircraft are most effective when operating as part of a coordinated strategy that includes bushfire mitigation activities such as prescribed burning and ground-based suppression resources.
In this respect the McGowan Government is faced with the task of balancing the impacts of smoke from prescribed burning against the need to protect our communities from the damaging impacts of bushfires and the higher level of community smoke impacts that such bushfires can cause.
b. The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) uses a range of bushfire detection systems including near real-time satellite imagery, fire lookout towers and spotter aircraft that are primarily used in the south-west of the State, where early warning of bushfire occurrence is essential to ensure rapid response and appropriate suppression activities minimise the impact of bushfires to the community and the environment.
DBCA works closely with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services and local governments in suppressing bushfires under their control. The State has access to a fleet of aerial suppression aircraft, which have been selected and located for their suitability to the operating environment. These aircraft are based at locations throughout the south-west of the State, which are deployed or forward based according to the prevailing conditions, bushfire potential and operational requirements.
I am advised that experience in Western Australia has shown that suppression aircraft are most effective when operating as part of a coordinated strategy that includes bushfire mitigation activities such as prescribed burning and ground-based suppression resources.
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.