colong No. 280| October 2020 bulletin NSW Bushfire NSW Bushfire Inquiry Inquiry • 1 Kosciuszko under attack BY KEITH MUIR from multiple fronts • 2 AN any positives come out of last summer’s calamitous Message from the bushfires? The NSW Bushfire Chair • 2 Inquiry report’s 466 pages Cand 76 recommendations offer hope Howl of the wild – that some bushfire problems can get better – except action on climate The importance change. That wasn’t the inquiry’s job, of dingoes to but they did their best. They examined the evidence and made it clear that wilderness • 3 climate change was a key factor and that’s why fires are getting worse. Whatever happened to Citing extreme weather on top of Tim Cadman? • 4 widespread drought, the report tacitly rejects the simplistic and eco-phobic mantra of “no fuel, no fire”. But like Economic Research many shuffling zombie ideas this one Validates Tourist Boom will never die, no matter how many times it gets a scientific stake through for Lithgow • 5 the heart. The inquiry was of course focused ‘Nature Needs Half’ on the human angle, but how does it Above: Looking into Blue Gum forest fire damage from Lockleys Pylon. needs both science and stack up on environment and natural Photo by Harry Burkitt values, which are inseparable from fire? ecological ethics • 5 Importantly, it didn’t come up with believes NPWS fire expertise and ecological risks of more fire into focus. anything stupid, like indiscriminate bushland knowledge is critical, and Species loss and structural changes It’s too late for Juukan burning with hectare targets. The that NPWS must continue managing to vegetation communities are on Gorge…but Warragamba report logically recommends focusing the ecology of fire in conservation the cards. Analysis for the inquiry close to assets and communities with reserves. NPWS has been very good looked at the biodiversity impacts: 114 Dam is on the burning and other mitigation methods, at putting remote fires out quickly. threatened ecological communities horizon • 6 based on risk and evidence. However A shortage of expert remote area were impacted; more than half of both the Minister for Emergency fire fighters was one reason that plant species endemic to NSW, and Defend the ABC – for Services and the Deputy Premier have some of the massive fires got away in more than half of the plants listed said the government will “go further” the first place, and the government as threatened, may decline because Wilderness’ sake • 6 than the recommendations. The risk wisely announced a boost of 80 fire of the 2019-2020 fires alone. NPWS is that populist, politically-driven fighters for NPWS before the inquiry estimates that 293 threatened animal Nadgee Wilderness • 7 responses will be both damaging and came down. This is not enough, and species were affected. Professor useless, wasting dollars and effort the inquiry lost an opportunity to Dickman roughly estimates that 800 that must go into fire protection that recommend more. million vertebrate native animals were mention. In addition, the findings on actually works. The report spends a lot of words on killed in NSW. The report comes to managing roadside vegetation and fire The report straddles an backburning. It can be argued that the damning conclusion that baseline trails could come with environmental uncomfortable fence on whether while many backburns worked, too ecological information is inadequate, risks if not followed sensitively. grazing and logging forests makes many failed and accelerated the fires. and recommends: “That Government Overall, the NSW Bushfire Inquiry them less flammable. Despite evidence Several led to tragedy. It’s possible invest in long-term ecosystem and has done a good job on a huge task, to the contrary, it didn’t dismiss these the total area burnt could have been land management monitoring”. without enough time. It could never out of hand but deferred to more reduced. Tighter controls and more The report is sometimes coy. While analyse or resolve everything. The research. Any such research needs to research are good measures but, as recommending that heavy machinery onus is now on the government to be properly done and not politicised. with all the recommendations, the should be much better supervised apply the same rational, evidence- The inquiry implicitly recognised devil will be in the detail of how they during fire operations, the unnecessary based approach to further changes and the importance of NPWS in the multi- are acted on. bulldozer damage that occurred in research, while ensuring there is no agency fire fighting effort. Colong The vast scorched area brought the the South East Forests did not rate a backsliding on the recommendations. 2 colong bulletin October 2020 #280 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR Kosciuszko under attack Thanks to our members and donors for supporting our end of financial year appeal. You may well be surprised to know, as I was, that you gave us a Colong record for the amount of from multiple fronts income received in June! It would be gratifying to receive such support at any time. BY WILSON HARRIS friend of Kosciuszko National economic strengths of the It cannot however be an accident that the support came at a Park, Barilaro and the NSW region. Through fast-track time when the COVID-19 pandemic had destroyed consumer OSCIUSZKO is Government plan to turn planning, government-led confidence and inflicted recession on the Australian economy. perhaps one of the parts of the Kosciuszko region, studies and development, To the contrary, it suggests that our well-informed donors most threatened including main towns like infrastructure investment, are taking an ethical stand. And we are proud of that. and vulnerable Jindabyne, into a tourist and business concierge, we There are moments when we could all be forgiven Knational parks in Australia. mecca for all seasons. will ensure that our region for feeling disheartened. When, in the face of ever more In the past few years, it has The Snowy Mountains SAP is resilient and well-placed to catastrophic climate change-related weather events, or proof faced unrelenting attack from has five key goals or vision grow.” that species extinction is running at 1,000 times the pre-human thousands of feral horses, the statements earmarked for While some of these rate, a certain number of people in public office – I choose at massively destructive Snowy further development in the aspirations will largely focus random from some very recent examples -- support subsidies 2.0 scheme, and given its region: on developing business and for coal-fired power stations, hold national park services sensitive alpine ecosystems, Adventure + Ecotourism culture within townships responsible for record bush fire events, or seek to roll back faces, perhaps more than Sport + Education outside the national park, even the modest, existing sanctuary zones in marine parks. most parts of the country, the Sustainability + Wellness there are a number of However, we should not allow noisy and self-interested inevitable threats of climate Design + Culture recommendations that pose political attacks on conservation to obscure the deeper change. Infrastructure + a huge risk to Kosciuszko understanding that runs in our community. On top of all of this, the Connections National Park (KNP) itself. It is more than a little encouraging to see the observations park now faces another “The Snowy Mountains The creation of a ‘precinct’ made a few weeks ago in the Interim Report of the significant threat to itsSpecial Activation Precinct will see implementation of Independent Review of the EPBC Act conducted by the well- integrity – the Snowy will bring together planning new fast-tracked planning known business and public figure Professor Graeme Samuel. Mountains Special Activation and investment to stimulate laws and regulations, which This Statutory Review does not equivocate: Precinct (SAP) announced economic development and will water down (already “The overwhelming message received by the Review is in late 2019 by NSW Deputy create jobs in line with the that Australians care deeply about Premier, John Barilaro. No competitive advantages and continued on p. 3 our iconic places and unique environment. Protecting and conserving them for the benefit of current and future Below: Looking up to Mount Twynam from Snowy River, in August 2020. Photo by Harry Burkitt generations is important for the nation. The evidence received by the Review is compelling. Australia’s natural environment and iconic places are in an overall state of decline and are under increasing threat. The pressures on the environment are significant—including land-use change, habitat loss and degradation, and feral animal and invasive plant species. The impact of climate change on the environment is building, and will exacerbate pressures, contributing to further decline. Given its current state, the environment is not sufficiently resilient to withstand these threats. The current environmental trajectory is unsustainable.” The restoration of degraded lands is critical to reverse the decline of our environment, but nothing is more important than the protection and conservation of the landscapes we have that are still intact. This is the most effective way to protect our native species and to sequester the carbon that must be taken out of the atmosphere if we are to reach zero emissions by 2050. The Colong Foundation makes an ethical commitment to our supporters to steadfastly pursue that goal! Bob Debus Chair, Colong Foundation For Wilderness THE COLONG FOUNDATION FOR WILDERNESS LTD PO BOX K335 HAYMARKET NSW 1240 TELEPHONE: (02) 9261 2400 EMAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: www.colongwilderness.org.au PATRON: The Hon. Bob Carr, BA (Hons), Hon. LittD. • DIRECTORS: Chair: The Hon. Bob Debus AM; Vice-Chair: Dr. Haydn Washington B.A., M.Sc., PhD; Hon. Secretary: Alix Goodwin; Hon. Treaurer: Robert Barri Pallin; Directors: Janine Kitson BA, Dip Ed, M Ed, Dip TEFL, MA, M Ed (Hons); Emma Spencer; Dr.