Living With the Bush

A recent Australian study suggests that land clearing over the past 200 years may have been as significant a factor in this country’s droughts and changing climate as increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

University of Queensland researchers have produced evidence for the possible link between land clearing and climate change in south-eastern Australia. The work is part of a broader climate modelling project – involving Land & Water Australia and the Queensland Climate Change Centre of Excellence – being managed by Dr Clive McAlpine.

Dr McAlpine’s team have used the CSIRO MARK 3 climate model – the same one used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – to simulate the climate impacts of land clearing over the past 200 years.

MOORABOOL residents clearing their property for the impending fire season are being warned not to expose their homes to greater risk.

Kevin Tolhurst, senior lecturer in fire ecology and management at the University of Melbourne, has labelled as dangerous the new "10/30" land clearing right, which allows residents to clear vegetation, including trees, within 10 metres of their residence and ground fuel within 30 metres.

The new policy was announced in August, but Dr Tolhurst said it could be wrongly interpreted and lead people to clear everything on their property.

"Totally removing trees and some species of plants from your property can be counter-productive," he said last week. "The problem is, you're exposing your house to stronger winds and for embers to reach your property. Trees can shield a house from some radiation, slow down wind and reduce embers."

BY JASON GILLICK
13/10/2009
FRANKSTON Council is defying the State Government's new laws aimed at reducing bushfire risk - the so-called '10/30 right' - claiming legal advice is that its local tree law overrides Victorian legislation.

The stand-off leaves Frankston landowners in limbo, with the council threatening to fine them for clearing their properties without a permit, which the Government says they can.

FRANKSTON councillors have decided against asking the State Government to exempt the municipality from the "10/30 right" that allows landowners to clear vegetation for bushfire protection around their homes.

Instead, they want the Government to modify the "10/30 right", forcing landowners to seek a permit before felling any large trees.

They also want legal advice over what effect the new rules have on existing tree protection laws.Frankston has been rated by the CFA as being "low fire risk".

An officers' report to councillors recommending Frankston be added to the 20 municipalities around Melbourne exempted from the "10/30 right" states indiscriminate clearing could lead to plummeting property prices and a drop in rate revenue.

The State Government planning amendment that overrides all planning controls came into effect this month and will be reviewed in August next year.

State Government wants to change the native vegetation protection rules to encourage householders to clear more trees from around their houses (Land-clearing laws to change in wake of fires, The Age, 24/2) yet paradoxically also proposes to release another 23,000 hectares of green wedge land for development, much of it in fire-prone pastures and woodlands. 

 RESIDENTS and councils will be left to fight it out under the State Government’s new land-clearing law.

YARRA Ranges Mayor Len Cox is calling on the State Government to reconsider its new tree-clearing rules due to the enormous potential for landslips and destruction of scenic vegetation.

And he is also pleading with residents to consult the council first before chopping down trees.

The new statewide vegetation clearing rules came into force last Thursday, allowing residents to remove all vegetation within 10m of their house and clear all undergrowth within 30m, without a council permit.

RESIDENTS will be able to remove protected river red gums from Whittlesea properties without a permit under a new State Government bushfire clearing policy.

The policy will override a Whittlesea Council policy requiring residents to apply for a permit before clearing river red gums and other native vegetation. Residents will also be allowed to collect firewood from roadside areas earmarked for fuel-reduction burns.

Under the new rules, homeowners will not need a permit to clear:

MANNINGHAM Council is worried the State Government’s relaxed vegetation clearing rules will risk the environment, wildlife habitats and cause erosion.

The ‘10/30 right’ rules, which became legislation last week to help in fire season preparations, allow residents to remove all vegetation within 10m of their property and ground fuel within 30m without a permit.

RESIDENTS of the small tinder-dry town of Maryknoll are being put on notice to clear their properties of potential fire dangers.

Visiting the 600-population town centre on Friday, Cardinia Mayor Bill Pearson said he was staggered that Maryknoll had been left off the State Government's list of the state's 52 most vulnerable bushfire towns.

"Maryknoll is one of the most picturesque towns in Victoria, and the most dangerous in a bushfire," Cr Pearson said.

Joined by Bass MP Ken Smith, Cr Pearson visited Maryknoll last Friday to highlight the importance of new vegetation-clearing legislation.

Under the "10/30" rule, Victorian landowners have the right to clear any vegetation on their own property, including trees, within 10metres of a house and ground fuel to within 30metres.