By Wayne Kayler-Thomson
VECCI welcomes the announcement by the State Government that it will proceed with reform to the inequitable Fire Services Levy (FSL), as announced in the State Government’s response to the Bushfires Royal Commission.
VECCI supports a broader based levy than the existing FSL, but believes any new levy must be simple, efficient and equitable and reserves its views on collection mechanisms.
The State Government must ensure it consults with the community on the design of the new levy, and that the levy provides incentives for actions that reduce the risk of bushfire related damage and injury.
VECCI also welcomes the decision by the State Government to not proceed with the Retreat and Resettlement policy proposed by the Royal Commission. VECCI does not support a property buy-back scheme as it is not likely to be economic or efficient.
VECCI remains alert to ongoing concerns about ‘Code Red’ days, and the need to ensure there is greater clarity for employers about their obligations under the law.
Planned increases in fuel reduction enjoy widespread support from industry as a method of reducing fire-risk.
However, any additional planned burns should be considered against their impact on business and residents, particularly for their capacity to disrupt peak tourism periods.
In addition, VECCI notes the State Government’s decision to fund a $2 million taskforce to investigate ways to reduce fire-risk posed by electricity infrastructure.
Proposals to cable all power lines underground in fire-risk areas have been estimated at up to $20 billion. This would pose a significant additional cost to electricity consumers, and more cost effective ways to reduce fire-risk from power lines should be investigated.
There are only a few days a year in which it is safe to perform fuel reduction burns. Whilst peak tourism times should be taken into consideration, perhaps by moving the target burn to another area, this may not always be an option; the overriding concern should be for ongoing community safety.
The costings of the proposal to progressively replace power lines in high fire risk areas, appears to neglect the fact that many of these lines are approaching the end of their life and have to be replaced anyway. Thus the real additional cost is less. Replacement can also be seen as an opportunity to co-install optical fibre cable, or at least if underground, the conduit for it. With the proposed NBN rollout, this option may well provide an additional revenue stream to offset the infrastructure replacement cost.