Victoria’s fuel reduction burns have halved, as the Allan Government collects an extra $540 million in fire services tax.
Howitt Society president Peter Flinn said fuel reduction burns now amounted to little more than 1 per cent of Victoria’s public land each year, “just one fifth of the minimum recommended per annum by the royal commission into the horrendous 2009 Black Saturday fires, which claimed 173 lives”.
“We are frequently told by FFMV (Forest Fire Management Victoria) they would like to do more in terms of fuel management, but are constrained by a shortage of funds and/or manpower, objections from some sections of the community, and that climate change is “narrowing the windows” for suitable weather conditions,” he said.
The government has admitted FFMV funding has fallen from $441.3m 2024-25 to $400.6m this financial year, but stated it was the result of specific project funding for emergency management reforms coming to an end.
However Mr Flinn said the lack of resources meant fuel reduction burns that FFMVic promised to undertake in the Southern Grampians this spring had not occurred, as thousands of tonnes of fuel built up in the canopy and the forest floor.
