A coalition of fire scientists, traditional custodians and regional advocates has issued a stark warning to the State Government: Victoria’s forests are a “ticking time bomb” of fuel that can only be defused by a return to active, local land management.
The forum, held at the Bairnsdale RSL on Sunday morning, served as a platform for the launch of bush expert John Mulligan’s book, Our Mismanaged Forests, who has spent nine decades working in and studying the Victorian bush.
The event brought together a who’s who of regional leadership to demand a reversal of city-centric environmental policies.
Opening the forum, Gunaikurnai Elder Russell Mullett provided
a deep historical perspective,
noting that core samples show thousands of years of consistent, managed burning.
“You live next to a forest, expect to get burnt – unless you burn first,” he warned, quoting a traditional perspective on the necessity of fire.
Mr Mulligan described the terrifying reality of modern mega-fires, recounting a 1983 experience where a “rolling fireball” of eucalyptus gas – 100 metres in diameter – ripped through the Cann River valley.
“There hasn’t been anybody in the department or the government that really understands what’s going on in the bush,” Mr Mulligan said.
He argued that by stopping traditional burning, the government has allowed a “jungle” of volatile scrub to replace the healthy, grassy understories of the past.
Member for Eastern Victoria, Melina Bath, told the audience that land management has been dangerously replaced by “emergency management.”
“Our forests are sick. They are upside down with too much undergrowth and a dying canopy,” Ms Bath said.
She highlighted a lopsided bureaucracy where 60 per cent of department staff are based in metropolitan areas, leading to what she called too many suits and not enough boots.
This sentiment was echoed by Cass McCormack, president of the Mountain Cattlemen’s Association of Victoria.
“Victoria doesn’t have a fire problem; we have a fuel
problem,” she said.
Ms McCormack called for a return to the five per cent fuel reduction burning target recommended by the Black Saturday Royal Commission – a figure the state currently falls far short of.
ABC journalist Tim Lee, who has covered regional issues for 40 years, described the Alpine Ash forests as a “ticking time bomb,” noting that six major fires in 20 years have left 18,000 hectares
of young growth unable to
reach seed-bearing age.
He lamented the growing gulf between city and country perceptions of fire.
Beekeeper Ian Cane linked forest health directly to the dinner table, noting that one-third of the food Australians eat is dependent on honeybee pollination, an industry currently threatened by collapsing forest ecosystems. He argued for a restoration plan to return forests to an open, managed structure.
“We have done less with more for 40 years by building city bureaucracies,”
Mr Cane said.
“For the next 40 years, we must do more with less.”
Veteran CFA officer Simon Armytage shared a frustrating account of being blocked by nine different organisations when trying to conduct simple roadside burns.
Despite the hurdles, he recounted how a strategic roadside burn he initiated in 2024 successfully held a wildfire that had been burning in the mountains for days.
Fire scientist David Packham challenged the notion that climate change is the sole driver of mega-fires, insisting that fuel is the only variable humans can control.
He pointed to Western Australia’s successful burning model as the “gold
standard” that Victoria continues to ignore.
Local MP Tim Bull concluded the forum by showcasing satellite imagery that proved wildfires stop
or slow significantly when they hit recently treated fuel reduction zones.
He called for a legislative reset to give land managers more than the “handful of days” currently allowed
for burning under strict modern criteria.
“We need to be prepared to have the criteria change,”
Mr Bull said.
“The alternative is what we saw in 2020 – losing 400 homes because we didn’t address
the fuel.”
Mr Bull then led a panel with five of the speakers,
with audience members invited to ask questions which were then discussed among the panel.
The forum ended with a
call to action for regional Victorians to make forest management a key political issue ahead of the November state election.
Melina Bath.
