Anger over burn-off law

By Ed Merrison
PROPOSED amendments to burn-off laws have been put on hold amid a furious backlash from prominent local firefighters.
Shire of Yarra Ranges manager of community relations James Martin confirmed last week that regulations appearing in a draft revision of local laws had been put on hold.
Mr Martin said the council proposed to extend the existing local laws relating to open-air burning and incinerators for up to 12 months to allow for further community consultation on possible improvements.
Mr Martin said the council took seriously the views of all parties on what was a “really vexed issue”.
“Not only are there significant social or quality of life issues, there are also health concerns, especially from asthmatics.
“There is the environmental impact of greenhouse gasses and air pollution and, as the CFA points out, there is the need to be able to reduce fuel loads,” he said.
Mr Martin’s response followed a joint statement from former Dandenong Ranges group officer Alan Marks and Upwey CFA Captain Peter Marke which declared “open warfare” on the proposed amendments.
Mr Marks and Mr Marke took objection to a planned deferment of pre-summer burning days from an October start to a November 1 start and rejected a move to get rid of the current 14-day post-summer burning amnesty.
Mr Marke said scrapping the October burning days would result in residents burning larger heaps, while restricting burning to Thursdays and Sundays after the summer period was “unrealistic”, giving residents too few opportunities to burn the build-up of fuel from the summer period.
Mr Marke also defended the responsible use of incinerators, especially among older members of the community.
Mr Marke felt submissions from fire brigades, in response to the draft revision circulated by the shire, appeared to have been “totally ignored”.
“It seems to me that both council workers and councillors involved in the process aren’t aware of the extensive community debate and consultation within the former Shire of Sherbrooke when the original local law was implemented,” he said.
Mr Marke said the aim of the local law revision should have been to simplify it or incorporate into it a program of community awareness. “People living in the Hills must realise that fuel reduction, while a nuisance to some, is an essential community obligation for the safety of everyone,” he said.
Mr Marke warned current councillors to ensure they had a firm grasp of local fire safety issues, and said he had written a letter to shire CEO Rob Hauser which invoked the memory of the Ash Wednesday fires, in the aftermath of which the shire was dragged into a coronial inquiry.
“I warned the CEO that he would face the same situation again in the case of a major fire in the municipality if these revised laws got through,” he said.