26 August, 2014
New bushfire clearing rules threaten the bushland character of regional and rural towns
New rules that allow people to clear trees and bushland around their homes threaten thousands of mature trees and hectares of bushland in and around many towns and cities in regional NSW, according to the NSW Nature Conservation Council.
The Baird Government’s new 10/50 Vegetation Clearing Code of Practice allows landowners to clear trees within 10 metres and all other vegetation within 50 metres of their homes without expert advice and approval from the Rural Fire Service, as was previously required.
“If everybody exercised their rights under this rule, towns and cities across NSW will lose a significant proportion of the tree canopy many communities have worked years to encourage,” said NCC CEO Kate Smolski.
“This will radically change the character of cities, towns and suburbs across the state.
“This rule overrides years of carefully crafted environmental protections, including the Threatened Species Conservation Act, tree preservation orders - protections many people have fought for years to put in place.
“To a lay person the 10/50 rule might sound like a good idea, but fire experts know it is bad policy. It has been poorly thought through and will potentially have very negative unintended consequences.
“We have already received reports of people using the new rules to remove trees simply to improve their views. If this rule is permitted to stand over time it will practically strip some areas.”
Ms Smolski said bushfire risk assessment was complex and should not be left to amateurs.
“The 10/50 rule is a one-size-fits all approach that could destroy large areas of bush and wildlife habitat, and give people a false sense of security that they are now safe from fire.
“There was a very good system in place that allowed residents to have their bushfire risk assessed by professionals from the Rural Fire Service – it is difficult to understand why the Baird government has undermined that.”
Tags
Bushfires
Let others know about this issue