The release of the Central Queensland Bushfires Recovery Plan 2018-21 is yet another shiny brochure which ignores the hard facts on bushfire management in the state.
LNP Shadow Minister for Fire and Emergency Services Lachlan Millar pointed to the document as further proof that this Brisbane-centric Labor Government was out of touch with rural and regional Queenslanders when it came to preparing and recovering from bushfires.
“It’s as if the Labor Government learnt nothing from the latest bushfires that ripped through Central Queensland,” Mr. Millar said.
“The Government has once again completely ignored the fact that suitable fuel reduction and land management were not undertaken on state-controlled land in the lead up to last year’s disastrous fires.
“The Government’s own report points out that 140,000 hectares of national parks and state forests were burned out, including 82 per cent of Deepwater National Park.
“The report does nothing to acknowledge the need to improve our preparedness and prevention activities which will save native vegetation from being destroyed by bushfires and protect wildlife and livestock.
“There have been nearly 1000 less Hazard Reduction Burns conducted and attended by the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service in 2018 compared to 2015.
“We know the Labor Government has failed to implement a single recommendation from the Queensland Auditor-General’s 2015 Bushfire Prevention and Preparedness Report.
“The parliamentary inquiry the LNP called for would have investigated whether the state Labor Government deliberately, or through its own mismanagement, allowed Queensland to become susceptible to bushfires.
“Queenslanders deserve a government with a clear plan moving forward that properly addresses the elephant in the room around state-controlled land mismanagement.
“Only the LNP will undertake the appropriate fuel reduction burns and free landholders from bureaucratic red tape, so they can manage their land and limit the impact of bushfires in Queensland.”
