A new report has raised fresh concerns about the Allan Labor Government's management of Victoria's bushfire risk.
Shadow Minister for Public Land Management, Melina Bath, said an independent report by the Victorian Auditor-General (VAGO) had exposed ongoing failures in bushfire risk assessment and fuel management.
"The VAGO report, Follow-up: Reducing Bushfire Risk, shows bushfire risk is being under-estimated and fuel reduction decisions are not providing communities with the protection they deserve," Ms Bath said.
"Communities need confidence that the system designed to keep them safe is based on accurate and reliable data. Right now, that confidence simply isn't there."
The report found longstanding issues with bushfire fuel hazard assessments remain unresolved, despite first being identified six years ago.
"Labor is not conducting enough fuel hazard assessments and the methods being used remain inconsistent and unreliable.
"The findings show bushfire risk assessment problems have not been fixed, targets have not been updated, and Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) staff continue to rely too heavily on visual judgement, undermining the accuracy of the data," Ms Bath said.
"As a result, the Allan Labor Government cannot guarantee its bushfire risk modelling is accurate, offering little reassurance to communities facing bushfire danger."
The Auditor-General also raised concerns about transparency, finding DEECA overstated its progress in implementing previous recommendations.
"These failures undermine confidence in bushfire planning and preparedness.
"Six years on from the Black Summer bushfires, Victorians are still seeing the same issues identified, with too little progress made to address them," Ms Bath said.
"Only a Liberal and Nationals Government will deliver more practical planned burning, properly measure bushfire risk, report it transparently and ensure communities are better protected."
