Anyone with more than half a functioning brain knows the greens are a pox on Australia.
I wonder how many soy latte sipping recreational drug taking greenies in Newtown or Balmain are out fighting these bushfires.
Qld landholder hit with record $1m penalty for making fire breaks too wide
James Nason, March 23, 2017
How wide can a fire-break be in Queensland?
Getting the answer wrong, despite receiving conflicting advice from several different Queensland Government staff, has just resulted in a Queensland landowner being forced to pay $999,780 in fines and costs.
That figure – a record since Queensland’s Vegetation Management Act came into effect in 1999 – incorporates a $276,000 fine and an order to pay the Government $723, 780 in costs.In the wake of the severe punishment, which has left the landowner devastated according to his legal team, landowners seeking to undertake future clearing works in areas containing native vegetation, even if for a firebreak, fenceline or road, are being urged to urgently seek legal advice before starting.
Court decision
Michael Vincent Baker of Chess Park, Eidsvold, was this week found guilty in the Brisbane Magistrate Court of the unauthorised clearing of 367.5 hectares of native vegetation.
Mr Baker was found guilty of 39 charges under the Vegetation Management Act and 7 charges under the Forestry Act relating to the width of clearing associated with firebreaks, fence lines and access tracks on his property, and also failing to comply with the self-assessable code for Native Forest Practice.
The total costs incurred by the Queensland Government in pursuing this prosecution, as disclosed to the court, were $2.2 million.Lack of clarity over allowable fire-break widths:
Mr Marland has previously indicated that before Mr Baker commenced the clearing in question, he contacted 32 different Government employees seeking advice on the acceptable width of fire breaks.
He said he received conflicting advice ranging from 1.5 metres wide to “1.5 times the height of the tallest tree”.The Vegetation Management Act (VMA) provided an exemption for clearing remnant vegetation if the clearing was to establish a fire break, and provided the break was “no more than 20 metres wide or 1.5 times the height of the nearest vegetation”.
The Act also allowed for “the clearing necessary” to remove or reduce the imminent risk that the vegetation poses of serious personal injury or damage to infrastructure.
Mr Baker was motivated to construct effective fire breaks because his 9242 hectare property Chess Park was almost totally burnt out by bushfire soon after he bought the property in May 2011.
The fires caused $300,000 worth of damage to property infrastructure. After that event, Mr Baker was determined to construct fire breaks to protect his family, property and livestock from future fires.He said Mr Baker applied the advice of “1.5 times the tallest tree” in determining the width of his fire breaks – narrower firebreaks would provide no protection if a burning tree fell across the break and continued the fire on the other side.
With trees measuring between 18 and 32 metres, an average of 25 metres was applied, resulting in fire break widths of 40 metres.
Mr Baker advised the Department of his plan and his intention to commence the work.
However, some two years after the work began, he was advised by the Department that his fire breaks were too wide, and legal action followed.Record punishment
The fine and costs order is the largest handed down since the Vegetation Management Act was enacted in 1999.More here-
https://www.beefcentral.com/news/qld-landholder-hit-with-record-1m-penalty-for-m... Bushfires have a long history in Australia once upon a time we cleared fire breaks and back burnt then leftist idiocy took over and fires have become much worse due to greater fuel loads.
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