Review of Bush Fires Act under way

16/6/94

A major overhaul to modernise the Western Australian Bush Fires Act is under way and the public has been invited to have its say.

Emergency Services Minister Bob Wiese told Parliament today that there had been many amendments to the present Act since its proclamation in 1954, but it was still out of date - it reflected the 1950s and 1960s and was not appropriate to take the board and this State's estimated 30,000 volunteers beyond the year 2000.

The Bush Fires Board had established a legislative review committee to oversee the review and make recommendations for legislative change.

The committee represented a broad cross-section of the community but all persons affected by the Act were invited to put forward their views to the committee.

Individuals, bush fire brigades and their members, local authorities and special interest groups were encouraged to make submissions on any area of interest to them.

Comment on items of particular interest to the board included the name of the board (the need to distinguish between the 'board' and the service organisation); what should be the functions, role and responsibilities of the board, local authorities and State Government and instrumentalities in fire prevention and suppression; alternative mechanisms for funding fire prevention and suppression; the structure of the fire organisation; and co-ordination between various authorities involved in fire prevention and suppression activities.

"Among the provisions of the existing Act is the power for the Minister in certain circumstances to set the burning times for various areas," Mr Wiese said.

"This is archaic and bureaucratic in the extreme - those sorts of decisions should be left to local fire officers to make, not the Minister.  It is the people at the grass roots of the organisation who best know when it is safe or not safe to burn off.

"Also requiring examination are the vexed questions of whether the Act should bind the Crown and whose responsibility it is to look after vacant Crown land and shire reserves.

"The situation with today's Bush Fires Board and volunteers is vastly different from that when the Act was framed 40 years ago.

"Bushfire brigades throughout WA are upgrading and installing more modern equipment and the Government this year allocated another $1 million for vehicles and $1.4 million for new communications equipment to assist and hasten this process.

"But it is no good giving firefighters this equipment if they are not trained in how to use it.  The Government and the board have given top priority to increasing the level of training for volunteers and this year $373,000 has been allocated for volunteer training.

"There are more than 200 towns in this State which, as a legacy of previous governments, have little or no fire protection.

"Now, for the first time, we are fully addressing this issue.

"The review of the Act is a further indication of the Government's support for the volunteer bushfire brigades and members all around rural WA.

The closing date for submissions is September 1, 1994, and they should be addressed to the Executive Officer (Legislation), Bush Fires Board of WA, P O Box 500, South Perth 6151.

Media contact:  Brian Coulter 222 9595 / 322 2311