❓ A parliamentary question regarding the City of Swan's bushfire regulations, specifically concerning Building Protection Zones (BPZs) and their enforcement, impact on planning approvals, land clearing, wildlife, and soil erosion. The response redirects the questions to the City of Swan, while providing general information on BPZs.
AnsweredQoN 1106Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the Your Guide to the
2013/2014 Fire Season from the City of Swan that can be found at: http://www.robinchapple.com/qdata which outlines that Building Protections
Zones (BPZs) are required around all buildings/structures of 20 metres; no
vegetation above five centimetres allowed within a 20 metres perimeter of any building/
structure beyond this initial 20 metres
perimeter, and a further 80 metres BPZ perimeter where vegetation is maintained
at or below the rate of 8 tonnes per hectare, and I ask: (a) has the City of Swan
starting enforcing these bush fire regulations; (b) if yes to (a), on what date
did this start; (c) must residents in the area
comply with these guidelines if they wish planning permission to be approved
for either an addition, shed, or to commence building a new home; and (d) from the currently proposed
bush fire protection measures: (i) what is the extent of land clearing; (ii) what is the impact on wildlife; and (iii) what is the impact of soil erosion?
2013/2014 Fire Season from the City of Swan that can be found at: http://www.robinchapple.com/qdata which outlines that Building Protections
Zones (BPZs) are required around all buildings/structures of 20 metres; no
vegetation above five centimetres allowed within a 20 metres perimeter of any building/
structure beyond this initial 20 metres
perimeter, and a further 80 metres BPZ perimeter where vegetation is maintained
at or below the rate of 8 tonnes per hectare, and I ask: (a) has the City of Swan
starting enforcing these bush fire regulations; (b) if yes to (a), on what date
did this start; (c) must residents in the area
comply with these guidelines if they wish planning permission to be approved
for either an addition, shed, or to commence building a new home; and (d) from the currently proposed
bush fire protection measures: (i) what is the extent of land clearing; (ii) what is the impact on wildlife; and (iii) what is the impact of soil erosion?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
17 June 2014
Responded by
Attorney General representing the Minister for Emergency Services
Response time
42 days
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services advises that the matters raised relate to bushfire guidelines and planning approval policies of the City of Swan and should be referred to that authority.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services can however advise that the purpose of the Building Protections Zones in all regions of Western Australia where there is a fire threat is to reduce flammable fuel in the immediate vicinity of structures and other assets to reduce the bushfire attack level in accord with Australian Standard AS3959 section 2. The requirements for Building Protections Zones within Western Australia for new buildings are specified in "Planning for Bushfire Protection guidelines edition 2" Element 4. Maintained gardens are not classed as flammable for the defendable space. Areas such as pathways, drives, lawn, vegetable gardens, pools etc. all serve to reduce fire intensity and will form an integral part of any Building Protections Zones. The effectiveness of these in reducing the risk of fire damage to a building is enhanced if these areas are close to the building.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services can however advise that the purpose of the Building Protections Zones in all regions of Western Australia where there is a fire threat is to reduce flammable fuel in the immediate vicinity of structures and other assets to reduce the bushfire attack level in accord with Australian Standard AS3959 section 2. The requirements for Building Protections Zones within Western Australia for new buildings are specified in "Planning for Bushfire Protection guidelines edition 2" Element 4. Maintained gardens are not classed as flammable for the defendable space. Areas such as pathways, drives, lawn, vegetable gardens, pools etc. all serve to reduce fire intensity and will form an integral part of any Building Protections Zones. The effectiveness of these in reducing the risk of fire damage to a building is enhanced if these areas are close to the building.
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.