Fire Commission annual report confirms success of fuel reduction burns
The 2017-18 State Fire Commission annual report has confirmed the success of the Hodgman Liberal Government’s Fuel Reduction Program.
During 2017-18 the Fuel Reduction Unit achieved the milestone of the 500th fuel reduction burn over the past four years of the program. Analysis has revealed that the bushfire risk has been reduced by up to 25 per cent in urban fringe areas around our major towns and cities and by approximately 5 per cent state-wide.
The Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) has also become extremely proactive in bushfire management and has invested heavily in predictive modelling and working with partner agencies to plan for the worst by pre-positioning fire crews and aircraft near the areas at greatest risk.
This ‘rapid weight of response’ strategy worked well throughout 2017-18 and meant that the TFS was able to get on top of fires quickly and keep them small, ultimately reducing workforce fatigue and potential losses to communities.
The Hodgman Liberal Government has also provided funding for the establishment of a State Emergency Service (SES) Flood Policy Unit and jointly funded, with the Commonwealth Government, a three-year project to map flood hazard and undertake flood studies across Tasmania. The work of the Flood Policy Unit will significantly improve understanding of flood risk and will help build community resilience to flood.
The SES successfully coordinated and administered the final two rounds of Commonwealth funding grants under the National Partnership Agreement (NPA) for Natural Disaster Resilience 2015-18.
A total of 60 projects, valued at $8.98 million, were approved for Commonwealth funding assistance of $3.92 million. State Government agencies, municipal councils, non-government organisations and research institutions benefited from the NPA, resulting in projects that will help build resilience against natural disasters.
