❓ The Minister outlines the rationale for a fire symposium, prompted by the Sydney fires, and details a three-pronged government strategy for improved fire management involving the symposium, an internal review by CALM, and a public review by the EPA.
AnsweredQoN 931Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I note that this week a fire symposium is being held, involving local, national and international speakers. Will the minister outline the rationale for the symposium and its implications for fire management in this State? Dr EDWARDS
AnswerView source ↗
I am sure that none of us who saw the footage on the television of the Sydney fires would fail to realise that the community is vitally interested in fire - how it is managed and, in particular, how it is prevented, so that Australia does not get the types of wildfires that Sydney had that meant that a number of this State’s firefighting staff were called away on New Year’s Eve, as were Department of Conservation and Land Management officers, to fight the fires around Sydney. For some time I have been having discussions with CALM about the basis for its prescribed management practices and how it manages fire on its estate. We determined that a small scientific conference that it had planned should be expanded into a large community seminar and that it be held in the autumn, hopefully after the fire season. For the past three days, a fire symposium has been held to explore questions like what are the biodiversity impacts of fire, what are the impacts of burning on the conservation estate, how do we prevent fire, how do we better manage fire and how do we make sure that we are in a position to best be able to predict and prevent wildfires. This is part of a three-pronged strategy that the Government is undertaking to have better answers about fire and to make sure that we have better management. The symposium is the first part. The second part is an internal review that is being carried out by Department of Conservation and Land Management to look at its staffing, the way it carries out its fires, wildfire threat analysis, and how to determine the impact its measures have on biodiversity and conservation. The third part of the process, which will be conducted by the Environmental Protection Authority, will bring together those two streams. This will be a public review of the way in which CALM carries out its fire processes. Over the past three days, a range of people have taken part in what has been, at times, very vigorous debate. There has also been vigorous debate in the corridor outside the conference room. I encourage people to take part - especially when the EPA submits it report - in debating this critically important issue to Western Australians.
Dr EDWARDS replied: I am sure that none of us who saw the footage on the television of the Sydney fires would fail to realise that the community is vitally interested in fire - how it is managed and, in particular, how it is prevented, so that Australia does not get the types of wildfires that Sydney had that meant that a number of this State’s firefighting staff were called away on New Year’s Eve, as were Department of Conservation and Land Management officers, to fight the fires around Sydney. For some time I have been having discussions with CALM about the basis for its prescribed management practices and how it manages fire on its estate. We determined that a small scientific conference that it had planned should be expanded into a large community seminar and that it be held in the autumn, hopefully after the fire season. For the past three days, a fire symposium has been held to explore questions like what are the biodiversity impacts of fire, what are the impacts of burning on the conservation estate, how do we prevent fire, how do we better manage fire and how do we make sure that we are in a position to best be able to predict and prevent wildfires. This is part of a three-pronged strategy that the Government is undertaking to have better answers about fire and to make sure that we have better management. The symposium is the first part. The second part is an internal review that is being carried out by Department of Conservation and Land Management to look at its staffing, the way it carries out its fires, wildfire threat analysis, and how to determine the impact its measures have on biodiversity and conservation. The third part of the process, which will be conducted by the Environmental Protection Authority, will bring together those two streams. This will be a public review of the way in which CALM carries out its fire processes. Over the past three days, a range of people have taken part in what has been, at times, very vigorous debate. There has also been vigorous debate in the corridor outside the conference room. I encourage people to take part - especially when the EPA submits it report - in debating this critically important issue to Western Australians.
I am sure that none of us who saw the footage on the television of the Sydney fires would fail to realise that the community is vitally interested in fire - how it is managed and, in particular, how it is prevented, so that Australia does not get the types of wildfires that Sydney had that meant that a number of this State’s firefighting staff were called away on New Year’s Eve, as were Department of Conservation and Land Management officers, to fight the fires around Sydney. For some time I have been having discussions with CALM about the basis for its prescribed management practices and how it manages fire on its estate. We determined that a small scientific conference that it had planned should be expanded into a large community seminar and that it be held in the autumn, hopefully after the fire season. For the past three days, a fire symposium has been held to explore questions like what are the biodiversity impacts of fire, what are the impacts of burning on the conservation estate, how do we prevent fire, how do we better manage fire and how do we make sure that we are in a position to best be able to predict and prevent wildfires. This is part of a three-pronged strategy that the Government is undertaking to have better answers about fire and to make sure that we have better management. The symposium is the first part. The second part is an internal review that is being carried out by Department of Conservation and Land Management to look at its staffing, the way it carries out its fires, wildfire threat analysis, and how to determine the impact its measures have on biodiversity and conservation. The third part of the process, which will be conducted by the Environmental Protection Authority, will bring together those two streams. This will be a public review of the way in which CALM carries out its fire processes. Over the past three days, a range of people have taken part in what has been, at times, very vigorous debate. There has also been vigorous debate in the corridor outside the conference room. I encourage people to take part - especially when the EPA submits it report - in debating this critically important issue to Western Australians.
The symposium is the first part. The second part is an internal review that is being carried out by Department of Conservation and Land Management to look at its staffing, the way it carries out its fires, wildfire threat analysis, and how to determine the impact its measures have on biodiversity and conservation. The third part of the process, which will be conducted by the Environmental Protection Authority, will bring together those two streams. This will be a public review of the way in which CALM carries out its fire processes. Over the past three days, a range of people have taken part in what has been, at times, very vigorous debate. There has also been vigorous debate in the corridor outside the conference room. I encourage people to take part - especially when the EPA submits it report - in debating this critically important issue to Western Australians.
Over the past three days, a range of people have taken part in what has been, at times, very vigorous debate. There has also been vigorous debate in the corridor outside the conference room. I encourage people to take part - especially when the EPA submits it report - in debating this critically important issue to Western Australians.
Dr EDWARDS replied: I am sure that none of us who saw the footage on the television of the Sydney fires would fail to realise that the community is vitally interested in fire - how it is managed and, in particular, how it is prevented, so that Australia does not get the types of wildfires that Sydney had that meant that a number of this State’s firefighting staff were called away on New Year’s Eve, as were Department of Conservation and Land Management officers, to fight the fires around Sydney. For some time I have been having discussions with CALM about the basis for its prescribed management practices and how it manages fire on its estate. We determined that a small scientific conference that it had planned should be expanded into a large community seminar and that it be held in the autumn, hopefully after the fire season. For the past three days, a fire symposium has been held to explore questions like what are the biodiversity impacts of fire, what are the impacts of burning on the conservation estate, how do we prevent fire, how do we better manage fire and how do we make sure that we are in a position to best be able to predict and prevent wildfires. This is part of a three-pronged strategy that the Government is undertaking to have better answers about fire and to make sure that we have better management. The symposium is the first part. The second part is an internal review that is being carried out by Department of Conservation and Land Management to look at its staffing, the way it carries out its fires, wildfire threat analysis, and how to determine the impact its measures have on biodiversity and conservation. The third part of the process, which will be conducted by the Environmental Protection Authority, will bring together those two streams. This will be a public review of the way in which CALM carries out its fire processes. Over the past three days, a range of people have taken part in what has been, at times, very vigorous debate. There has also been vigorous debate in the corridor outside the conference room. I encourage people to take part - especially when the EPA submits it report - in debating this critically important issue to Western Australians.
I am sure that none of us who saw the footage on the television of the Sydney fires would fail to realise that the community is vitally interested in fire - how it is managed and, in particular, how it is prevented, so that Australia does not get the types of wildfires that Sydney had that meant that a number of this State’s firefighting staff were called away on New Year’s Eve, as were Department of Conservation and Land Management officers, to fight the fires around Sydney. For some time I have been having discussions with CALM about the basis for its prescribed management practices and how it manages fire on its estate. We determined that a small scientific conference that it had planned should be expanded into a large community seminar and that it be held in the autumn, hopefully after the fire season. For the past three days, a fire symposium has been held to explore questions like what are the biodiversity impacts of fire, what are the impacts of burning on the conservation estate, how do we prevent fire, how do we better manage fire and how do we make sure that we are in a position to best be able to predict and prevent wildfires. This is part of a three-pronged strategy that the Government is undertaking to have better answers about fire and to make sure that we have better management. The symposium is the first part. The second part is an internal review that is being carried out by Department of Conservation and Land Management to look at its staffing, the way it carries out its fires, wildfire threat analysis, and how to determine the impact its measures have on biodiversity and conservation. The third part of the process, which will be conducted by the Environmental Protection Authority, will bring together those two streams. This will be a public review of the way in which CALM carries out its fire processes. Over the past three days, a range of people have taken part in what has been, at times, very vigorous debate. There has also been vigorous debate in the corridor outside the conference room. I encourage people to take part - especially when the EPA submits it report - in debating this critically important issue to Western Australians.
The symposium is the first part. The second part is an internal review that is being carried out by Department of Conservation and Land Management to look at its staffing, the way it carries out its fires, wildfire threat analysis, and how to determine the impact its measures have on biodiversity and conservation. The third part of the process, which will be conducted by the Environmental Protection Authority, will bring together those two streams. This will be a public review of the way in which CALM carries out its fire processes. Over the past three days, a range of people have taken part in what has been, at times, very vigorous debate. There has also been vigorous debate in the corridor outside the conference room. I encourage people to take part - especially when the EPA submits it report - in debating this critically important issue to Western Australians.
Over the past three days, a range of people have taken part in what has been, at times, very vigorous debate. There has also been vigorous debate in the corridor outside the conference room. I encourage people to take part - especially when the EPA submits it report - in debating this critically important issue to Western Australians.
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