VIC:Brumby's $867m bushfire plan

AAP General News (Australia)
08-27-2010
VIC:Brumby's $867m bushfire plan

By Steve Lillebuen

MELBOURNE, Aug 27 AAP - The Victorian government has rejected plans to buy back properties
in high fire risk areas as it committed more than $867 million in sweeping reforms ahead
of this year's bushfire season.

Premier John Brumby says that of the 67 recommendations from the final report by the
Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission, the government officially supports 60 in full, five
in part and one in principle.

The end result will be more than 600 new career firefighters, over 230 seasonal firefighters
and more funding to maintain powerlines and rapidly expand fuel reduction burning across
the state.

A new statewide property tax on each household will also be started to pay for fire services.

But Mr Brumby says the government has rejected the commission's recommendation on retreat
and resettlement because it would impact too many people and potentially increase fire
risk.

"We've rejected that for a range of reasons," he told reporters on Friday as he outlined
the state government's official response.

The royal commission had urged for the government to start a voluntary buyback of properties
in areas with high bushfire risk.

But Mr Brumby said: "If you applied this in some areas it would actually increase fire risk."

One house could be left surrounded by vacant land, which would increase fire risk for
that remaining property, he said.

Such a plan could then impact property values and insurance costs for those who remain.

The government partly used a potential huge cost of buybacks as justification to dump
the plan, estimating that depopulating the 52 most at-risk towns would cost beyond $20
billion with an annual maintenance bill of $40 million.

Estimates on a buyback of the 2000 homes lost on Black Saturday tip past $700 million alone.

Nearly half of the $867.3 million in funding announced on Friday will be spent on fuel
reduction burns to achieve the recommended target of five per cent of all public land
each year, which Mr Brumby said he "fully accepted".

"We'll build up to this progressively over a four-year period," he said, to reach 385,000
hectares.

"This is a huge commitment."

The state will also adopt a new "progressive property-based levy" instead of a fire
services levy, to start in July 2012.

The plan will include a pensioner concession worth 50 per cent, as recommended by the
commission, and not collect any more money than the current fire levy brings in each year.

On powerlines, the government "in part" supports recommendations to upgrade and replace
all powerlines.

"The reality is the cost of doing that would be huge for Victoria," Mr Brumby said.

Instead, the focus is on maintenance rather than replacement, while also boosting obligations
of electricity businesses.

A new $2 million Powerline Bushfire Safety Taskforce will also study and come up with
options on reducing electrical risk that don't require lines to be buried underground.

An additional $2 million is earmarked to stop and track down arsonists while $44.5
million is set aside for a new CFA volunteer recruitment program.

The views of about 1600 people were taken into consideration during community consultations
across the state in forming the government's official response.

AAP sbl/ce/apm

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