❓ Hon Adele Farina questions the Minister for Environment regarding prescribed burning targets and achievements in the South West region, including the impact of additional funding. The Minister provides data on past burns and clarifies the purpose of the increased funding.
AnsweredQoN 3570Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to prescribed burning targets in the South West, and I ask: (a) for each of 2012, 2013 and 2014, what were the prescribed burning targets for the South West region; (b) for each of 2012, 2013 and 2014, what was the actual area subject to prescribed burns in the South West region; (c) for each of 2015, 2016 and 2017, what are the prescribed burning targets for the South West region; (d) what is the actual area in the South West region that has been subject to prescribed burning to date in 2015; and (e) in each of 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19, what additional prescribed burning has been planned in the South West as a consequence of the extra $20 million committed in the 2015-16 Budget?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
1 December 2015
Responded by
Minister for Mental Health representing the Minister for Environment
Response time
42 days
The Minister for Environment has provided the following response.
(a)-(c) The past and future notional target for the Department of Parks and Wildlife's prescribed burning program in the south-west is 200,000 hectares per annum.
(b) Prescribed burning achievement by Parks and Wildlife (and its predecessor agency the Department of Environment and Conservation) in the south-west for the last three complete seasons was:
- 2012-13: 23,468 hectares
- 2013-14: 78,234 hectares
- 2014-15: 147,082 hectares
(d) From 1 July 2015 to 13 November 2015, 11 prescribed burns in Parks and Wildlife's three south-west forest regions had been completed and another 71 burns had been partially completed for an overall total of 114,047 hectares. This is substantially better than the previous best for the same period over recent years, which was just over 81,000 hectares in 2009/10 when the then Department of Environment and Conservation last achieved over 200,000 hectares of prescribed burning in the south-west.
(e) The intention of the additional Royalties for Regions funding of $20 million over four years is to facilitate the capacity of Parks and Wildlife to more consistently meet or exceed its notional target in the face of various challenges, rather than to increase the target itself.
(a)-(c) The past and future notional target for the Department of Parks and Wildlife's prescribed burning program in the south-west is 200,000 hectares per annum.
(b) Prescribed burning achievement by Parks and Wildlife (and its predecessor agency the Department of Environment and Conservation) in the south-west for the last three complete seasons was:
- 2012-13: 23,468 hectares
- 2013-14: 78,234 hectares
- 2014-15: 147,082 hectares
(d) From 1 July 2015 to 13 November 2015, 11 prescribed burns in Parks and Wildlife's three south-west forest regions had been completed and another 71 burns had been partially completed for an overall total of 114,047 hectares. This is substantially better than the previous best for the same period over recent years, which was just over 81,000 hectares in 2009/10 when the then Department of Environment and Conservation last achieved over 200,000 hectares of prescribed burning in the south-west.
(e) The intention of the additional Royalties for Regions funding of $20 million over four years is to facilitate the capacity of Parks and Wildlife to more consistently meet or exceed its notional target in the face of various challenges, rather than to increase the target itself.
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