Australia’s NSW Government accepts all 76 bushfire inquiry recommendations
Compulsory land clearing, night-time water bombing, and aggressive hazard-reduction burning, use of drones for fire intelligence gathering and protection of fauna were among the recommendations.
NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott says firefighters will be able to enter private properties and start hazard-reduction burns under new powers. The inquiry analysed NSW's approach to last season's bushfires, which burnt 5.3 million hectares. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said her Government would adopt all of them. The six-month inquiry heard more than 1,900 submissions about NSW's response.
Also included was guidance on which aerial fire-fighting assets should be used in the future, and what strategies personnel should pursue. These included increased water-bombing at night and employing more rapid aerial responses when fires are burning in risky and hard-to-reach terrain.
The inquiry's report also advised on measures to protect the mental health of firefighters.
Last summer's bushfires resulted in the deaths of 26 people in NSW, including six firefighters. A total of 2,476 homes were destroyed.
And the Australian Fire Season has already started in some areas, again a little earlier than last year.