COAG INQUIRY ON BUSHFIRE MITIGATION AND MANAGEMENT:

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Introduction

Bushfires are a natural feature of the Australian landscape but their frequency and a range of factors, some of which can be affected by human intervention, may influence severity. The loss of four lives and around 500 homes in the ACT during the 2002-03 bushfire season has highlighted that bushfires are as much a part of metropolitan life as they are for those living in regional and rural Australia. It is now estimated that a total of 3.1 million hectares of land has been burnt in bushfires this season. While the most severe fires have occurred in New South Wales (NSW), Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Victoria, there have also been major fires in the majority of other jurisdictions.

NSW and the ACT appear to have had their worst bushfire seasons. For NSW, the area burnt is almost three times what was burnt in 2001-02 (estimated at 754,000 hectares). Over half of the land area of the ACT, and around 90 per cent of Namadgi National Park has been burnt. The 1.3 million hectares burnt in Victoria is exceeded only by the 1.5 million hectares burnt in 1939.

Objectives of the inquiry

Against this background, the Commonwealth, State, Territory and local governments, under the auspices of the Council of Australian Governments, will commission an independent inquiry into bushfire mitigation and management in Australia. Acknowledging that bushfire management and mitigation is constitutionally an area of State and Territory responsibility, this inquiry will add value by considering issues and identifying situations where there may be opportunities to enhance national cooperation and achieve best practice. The inquiry will outline the facts on this season’s major bushfires (including where the fires started and what was affected). Having established the facts, the inquiry will examine the efficiency with which major bushfire fighting resources are managed on a national basis and the effectiveness of current management practices particularly in crown lands, state forests national parks, other open space areas adjacent to urban development and private property. The inquiry will also explore measures such as local government planning and best use of technology to minimise the impacts of bushfires.

Scope of inquiry

Having established the facts in relation to the major bushfires in the 2002-03 season, the inquiry will address the following issues:

• the current state of bushfire management in Australia, including:

• risk factors contributing to bushfires, including deliberate fire lighting;

• bushfire mitigation strategies in national parks, state forests, other Crown land, other open space areas adjacent to urban development and private property;

• the impacts of bushfires on the environment, human life, property and the economy;

• the impacts of fire mitigation strategies, such as hazard reduction, on the environment, human life, property and the economy;

• the adequacy of infrastructure and human resources for fire mitigation purposes; and,

• the use of existing fire fighting resources, including an examination of the efficiency of resource use and co-operation between agencies and between jurisdictions; and

• the identification of best practice national measures, cooperation and standards that can be undertaken by all levels of government, industry and the community, and the economic, social and environmental costs and benefits of such measures.

In undertaking the inquiry, the panel shall:

• take account of and draw on bushfire inquiries, distilling from them the common threads and lessons in relation to opportunities for national cooperative bushfire mitigation and management;

• be mindful of the capacity of existing strategies and arrangements, including urban design and land use planning, at all levels of government, to protect life and property from major bushfires and minimise negative environmental impacts of bushfires, and bushfire mitigation regimes; and

• also take into account national and regional objectives and variation in relation to vegetation types, land management processes, land management processes, biodiversity, terrain, long term climate conditions and other environment and heritage issues.

Timing

The inquiry will provide a final report in the first quarter of 2004.