Community members held a protest outside a main voting booth in Bairnsdale on Friday, May 2, to voice their condemnation of planned burning being carried out by DEECA and its fire department, Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV).
The group said the impacts on climate change and ecology are unacceptable.
“People from diverse backgrounds and groups have come together today to tell DEECA we strongly oppose their ineffective, damaging and out of control planned burns,” said Dawn Stubbs from East Gippsland Climate Action Network and Concerned Artists Resisting Extinction.
“Public disapproval for DEECA’s extinction burns is at an all-time high. Just recently we saw several burns escaping and threatening the safety of communities such as Daylesford.
“The smoke which yearly suffocates communities for weeks over the Easter period causes serious health risks – the lungs and heart are affected by PM 2.5 particles it contains.
“Importantly, the vast amount of smoke pollution from FFMV’s deliberately lit bushfires escalates the effects of climate change.
“This is reckless and irresponsible given Australia’s commitment to reduce greenhouse emissions to net zero by 2050.”
The gathering consisted of people holding banners and placards, dancing ‘Sybils’ and a special appearance from a Quoll, a Glider and a Glossy Black Cockatoo.
“We call for an immediate pause of planned burning while an independent inquiry is held into its effectiveness, and into the devastating ecological damage being caused,” Ms Stubbs said.
According to Ms Stubbs, the latest available science suggests DEECA’s approach of burning tens of thousands of hectares of native forest every year on short rotations is not effective in reducing bushfire risk.
Recent research from ANU and Curtain University challenges the idea that broadscale burning is necessary to reduce bushfire risk.
Associate Professor Philip Zylstra from Curtain University said broadscale burns ‘maintain the landscape at maximum fire risk because they undermine the natural controls that forests place on fire.’
“We know that old forests tend to be cooler, more moist and more sheltered. By limiting disturbance, forests can reach an appropriate age where they can be better protected from the increased frequency and severity of Australian bushfires,” Professor Zylstra said.
Professor David Lindenmeyer from ANU said “We need to invest heavily in rapid response remote area firefighting specialists and embrace new technologies that allow us to detect fires and suppress them faster”.
Ms Stubbs said the local community needs to get smarter about how to deal with bushfires.
“Burning forests at broad scale is causing terrible ecological damage and isn’t effective in reducing bushfire risk,” she said.
“It is putting us at higher risk by making forests more flammable. Premier Jacinta Allan and Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos need to step in urgently.”
