Arson laws under fire

By Casey Neill
A FERNY Creek resident has slammed the state’s arson laws as weak and ineffective.
Don Orr told the Mail he wanted to see tougher penalties imposed on people convicted of lighting fires, particularly in high-fire-danger areas such as the Dandenongs.
“Anybody who commits arson in any sort of fire risk area … it is paramount to premeditated manslaughter,” he said.
“Once a fire gets started in a eucalypt forest it’s virtually unstoppable.”
Mr Orr said people facing arson charges should be tagged and convicted arsonists locked up for the maximum penalty to deter other potential offenders.
His comments follow calls from State National Party leader Peter Ryan for the State Government to monitor suspected fire bugs on days of extreme fire risk, and introduce extended supervision orders for anyone imprisoned for arson.
He said a Liberal-National coalition government would also establish a prevention taskforce to identify and monitor known arsonists and increase patrols in vulnerable regions.
But a State Government spokesman said Victoria Police was armed with some of the most stringent arson laws in the country.
“Victoria has been at the forefront of legislative reform in relation to arson offences and the Brumby Labor Government continues to review our laws to make sure they are they are relevant and robust,” he said.
He said there was no robust testing supported by science to predict if someone was a substantial risk of re-offending, “which the courts would need to impose an extended supervision order”.
“When science improves in this area, Victoria will further explore this option.”
He said Victoria Police already conducted targeted arson operations.