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Objective

Recommendation

Key issues

What has been achieved 1998-2003

Tasmania Together

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Objective

To provide the Resource Management and Planning System with quantitative tools to analyse and respond to bushfire risks.

Recommendation

It is recommended that:

• Tasmania Fire Service and Councils develop model amendments to planning schemes for development in bushfire prone areas;
   
• educational programs are implemented to allow the community to understand how to improve the bushfire performance of developments, including not placing developments in places where there may be unacceptable environmental costs; and
   
• Tasmanian fire authorities continue to support the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre and other research efforts to improve our understanding of the dynamics of bushfires and reduce the environmental impacts of managing bushfire risks.
   

Key issues

A recommendation on fire hazard planning was proposed in the 1997 SoE Report. The objective and the recommendation from 1997 is re-stated to better reflect progress, the current situation, and contemporary thinking on bushfire risk.

What has been achieved 1998-2003

There are now many planning schemes which include basic development controls for bushfire prone areas, including: Break O'Day, Flinders, Glamorgan /Spring Bay, Tasman, Hobart, Kingborough (pending), Glenorchy, Clarence (pending), Waratah /Wynyard, Southern Midlands (pending), Brighton, and West Coast. Reviews of the West Tamar, Meander Valley, Devonport and George Town planning schemes are under way. These measures have been included as schemes have been reviewed.

A partnership agreement project is being undertaken by a group of council planners and others to develop bushfire planning tools. This project is intended to include a model schedule for planning schemes suitable for adoption as a planning directive. This is proceding on the basis of adopting current technologies and knowledge while fundamental research is being undertaken. Tasmanian fire authorities are members of the consortium which was recently awarded federal funding for a Bushfire Cooperative Reseach Centre (CRC) to commence operation on July 1 2003. A major research function of the Bushfire CRC will be to provide better information for the development of the sorts of tools envisaged by this Recommendation. Some fuel-related studies will take place within Tasmania. However, the major research gap is about bushfire characteristics and building performance, which does not need to be studied in Tasmania.

Tasmania Together

Relevant Tasmania Together goals and standards for 'Settlements' are listed in the linked file. The Tasmania Together Progress Board reported on progress toward targets for benchmarks set (Tasmania Together Progress Board 2003). Indicators, targets and baseline data are available in the latest Progress Report June 2003. Further information, including progress report updates, is available from Tasmania Together.

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