Has hazard reduction in NSW increased two-and-a-half times under Barry O’Farrell?

Updated

Whenever a major bushfire occurs in Australia, it also ignites a debate over whether enough has been done to reduce the risk, often in the form of hazard reduction burning.

The Mayor of Port Stephens on the NSW central coast, Councillor Bruce MacKenzie, recently blamed "bureaucrats sitting on their backsides in Sydney" for the loss of five homes in his area. "Because of the lack of burning off, underscrubbing and hazard reduction, they've lost their home and that's a bloody disgrace," he said.

As the fires intensified in the NSW Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury and Shoalhaven regions, Premier Barry O'Farrell told the ABC that there had been a significant increase in bushfire hazard reduction in his state.

"In the past two years, we have increased the amount of hazard reduction two-and-a-half times," he told ABC's 7.30 program on October 21.

ABC Fact Check assesses Mr O'Farrell's claim.

The claim: NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell says his Government has increased the amount of hazard reduction two-and-a-half times.

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell says his Government has increased the amount of hazard reduction two-and-a-half times. The verdict: A full two-and-a-half times increase would have seen 294,083 hectares completed in 2012-2013, not 281,492. And under the previous Labor government, a significantly larger amount of hazard reduction work was completed than in either 2010-2011 or 2011-12 under Mr O'Farrell. Mr O'Farrell's claim is close to the mark.





Hazard reduction

According to the NSW Rural Fire Service, there are three main methods of bushfire hazard reduction: hand clearing; mechanical clearing (including raking, slashing and mowing); and burning.

In NSW in 2011-2012, close to 50,000 hectares of land had hazard reduction work completed by mechanical or other means, and 90,000 hectares was deliberately burnt to reduce bushfire risk.

Hazard reduction burning of excess vegetation is sometimes called 'prescribed burning' or 'controlled burning', and is often confused with 'back-burning', which is a bushfire-fighting technique.

Hazard reduction burning is not without risks, including fires getting out of control, and atmospheric pollution.

A recent study by Deloitte Access Economics found there is greater value in measures other than vegetation-management to reduce bushfire risk, such as improving the design of houses and burying electricity cables.

The evidence

Fact Check asked Mr O'Farrell for evidence to support his claim. His office said the NSW Rural Fire Service 2011-2012 annual report showed hazard reduction work was completed on 138,211 hectares of land during that financial year. There are estimated to be about 20 million hectares of bushfire-prone land in NSW.

The same report reveals that in the previous year, hazard reduction work was completed on 117,633 hectares of land.

Figures for the amount of hazard reduction work completed in 2012-2013 are yet to be published, but Mr O'Farrell's office says the 2012-2013 RFS annual report to be tabled "shortly" will reveal hazard reduction work was completed on 281,492 hectares of land last year. The NSW RFS confirmed the report will show that figure.

NSW RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers used a similar figure in a recent radio interview. "There is record amounts of hazard reduction going on in the state and some 281,000 hectares were burnt but you’re talking about a state that has more than 20 million hectares of bushfire-prone land," he told radio station 2GB on October 14.

"So if someone's able to predict which bit is going to burn next, we're more than happy to go out and burn it but it’s just not that simple."

The verdict

A full "two-and-a-half times" increase in two years would have seen 294,083 hectares completed in 2012-2013, not 281,492.

Mr O'Farrell's two-year time frame is relevant. The Liberal leader was elected NSW Premier in March 2011.

It's worth noting that in the 2009-2010 financial year, under the previous Labor government, hazard reduction work was completed on 174,705 hectares - a significantly larger area than either 2010-2011 or 2011-12.

But assuming the data for 2012-2013 provided by the Premier's office is correct, Mr O'Farrell's claim is close to the mark.

Sources

Topics: bushfire, states-and-territories, liberals, nsw

First posted