MPs seek tougher action on firebugs
ARSONISTS and offenders caught breaking fire bans should face harsher penalties and on-the-spot infringement notices, a parliamentary inquiry has decided.
The final report of the Legislative Council’s inquiry into fire season preparedness was tabled in late June after more than 12 months of hearings and witness submissions across Melbourne and regional Victoria.
It was established in the wake of the devastating 2015 Black Christmas bushfires, in which more than 116 properties were destroyed along the Great Ocean Road, including homes in Wye River and Separation Creek.
MPs James Purcell and Simon Ramsay represented the Western Victoria region as members in the inquiry.
The committee took into account eight major bushfire events since 2000 — which altogether caused the death of almost 200 people, killed more than 80,000 livestock, destroyed 3000 homes and businesses, and torched 3.5 million ha of land.
Committee chair, Southern Metropolitan MP David Davis, said it had been “a long, difficult but important inquiry”.
The inquiry also took note of “the major cause of fires”, which witness Janet Stanley of the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute said was undoubtedly human action, including those breaching total fire bans. Associate Professor Stanley told the inquiry evidence showed “about 85 or 90 per cent of fires are human lit in some form”.
Despite this, the inquiry found that only 4 per cent of magistrates’ court cases of lighting a fire or allowing a fire to remain alight resulted in imprisonment.
Another 4 per cent resulted in a wholly suspended sentence, while the majority resulted in a fine (44 per cent) or dismissal (40 per cent).
“Total fire ban offences can have devastating impacts on communities,” the report noted.
“While the maximum penalty available to magistrates for a total fire ban offence is a fine of $37,310 or two years’ imprisonment or both, most fines are in the range of $200-300.”
In response, the committee has now recommended the Government “imposes significant penalties and strengthens enforcement, including via infringement notices, for offences against total fire ban requirements before the 2017-2018 fire season”.
It has also suggested introducing anti-arson programs into communities across the state, similar to that which currently exists in Gippsland and includes fire prevention patrols, an education program and inter-agency co-operation.