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Fire infromation session in Shepparton - POWELL

 Thursday, August 04, 2011

Member for Shepparton Jeanette Powell is encouraging residents in the Shepparton district to attend a community information session on Thursday August 25 to find out more information about planned burns in Victoria’s parks and forests.

Mrs Powell said the community information session would be one of many held across the state.

“The government is committed to consulting with the community about fire operations plans and committed to letting the community know where and when controlled burns will occur within a region,” Mrs Powell said.

“The proposed new fire management zones for public land will be displayed at the meeting and public comment will be sought.”

“I would encourage residents who know the area very well and have something to contribute about proposed changes to the zones to attend the meeting if possible.”

Each district in the state will develop a Fire Operations Plan for the coming three years which shows planned burns and other fire prevention works such as slashing, track works and construction of fire breaks.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment Fire Operations Plans are developed in consultation with communities, special interest groups, local councils, Parks Victoria, Melbourne Water, forest managers, CFA, flora and fauna specialists and any other parties that register interest.

The Shepparton meeting is at the CFA Region 22 office, Numurkah Rd, Shepparton, on August 25, from 9am to 1pm.

If unable to attend the meeting, residents can view the plans online at www.dse.vic.gov.au, phone 136 186 or visit their local DSE or Parks Victoria Office. Comments will be received until 29 August 2011.

Brumby Government back flip over Fire Services Levy

 Friday, September 03, 2010

The Brumby Government has reluctantly accepted the Bushfire Royal Commission’s recommendation to replace Victoria’s inequitable insurance-based Fire Services Levy (FSL) with a fairer property-based system.
Member for Shepparton, Jeanette Powell said after many years of intense pressure for reform from the Victorian Liberal Nationals Coalition, John Brumby has finally been forced to acknowledge how unfair and inequitable the FSL has been.
“For years John Brumby has said that the current FSL was fair and did not need to be changed,” Mrs Powell said.
“The Coalition has lobbied for a more equitable and fair FSL for years and now the Royal Commission has vindicated our position.
“We have argued that it must be possible to find a way that does not lead to tax being paid on tax, which is what happens now.
“However, the changes to the FSL will not be implemented until July 2012.
“Many organisations including Victorian Farmers Federation and Association of Independent Retirees (AIR) as well as insurance companies have called for change to the FSL.
“I met with committee members of the GV Branch of AIR today and they welcomed the decision and praised former member the late Keith Wall who in 2005 initiated a campaign to bring about a more equitable levy.
“I have raised the issue of the unfair FSL levy many times in Parliament and am pleased to finally see the government using some commonsense.”
Mrs Powell said Labor has deliberately ignored numerous reports and advice from as far back as 2001 that have said the FSL was inequitable and in desperate need of reform.
“Even in its official submission to the Bushfires Royal Commission, the Brumby Government said the Commission should not make any recommendations on the matter,” Mrs Powell said.
“For years the Brumby Government did not care about the expense of the FSL on Victorians, now thankfully it has been forced into action,” Mrs Powell said.

Councils desperately need extra bushfire recovery support

 Monday, August 16, 2010

Local councils in bushfire-prone areas are crying out for additional Brumby Government support, Shadow Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell told Parliament this week.

Speaking on the Bushfires Royal Commission final report, Mrs Powell said she had spoken with a number of councils which had been drastically affected by the 2009 bushfires.

“Councils are struggling with the extra responsibilities handed to them since February 7 last year, particularly the costs associated with implementing and maintaining neighbourhood safer places,” Mrs Powell said.

“The Bushfires Royal Commission recognised an imbalance in the financial capacity of bushfire-affected councils and the difficulty they have in obtaining technical expertise in relation to bushfire preparation and management.”

Mrs Powell said a number of bushfire-prone councils had larger geographical areas and a smaller population base and therefore they struggled to raise the revenue required to meet additional bushfire-related responsibilities.

“As a matter of priority, John Brumby should provide appropriate funding and support to ensure councils can prepare their communities ahead of the next bushfire season,” Mrs Powell said.

“Otherwise local ratepayers will be forced to wear the costs through increased rates, fees and charges or decreased services.”

Mrs Powell said another issues raised by councils in bushfire-prone communities was their concern with the frequent use of the name ‘neighbourhood safer places’.

“Many councils believe the term ‘neighbourhood safer places’ provides a false sense of security and that ‘Places of last resort’ is a more appropriate name because safety is not guaranteed,” Mrs Powell said.

“Another issue facing councils in high fire-risk areas is that they are unable to meet the criteria to establish neighbourhood safer places and so the government needs to move quickly to ensure these communities have fire refuges in place before the next bushfire season.

“Councils are doing the best job they can to safeguard their communities – if the Brumby Government is genuinely ‘consulting’ following the release of the Bushfires Royal Commission final report then there should be additional funding for councils at the end of their consultation process.”

Bushfire report says Brumby needs to better support councils

 Friday, August 06, 2010

John Brumby must do more to support local councils after previously failing to provide them with enough funding to adequately protect Victorians from bushfires, Shadow Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell said today.

“The final report of the Bushfires Royal Commission said John Brumby had failed to give councils the money they needed to fulfil the extra responsibilities they had been given by his government,” Mrs Powell said.

‘Local governments have struggled to implement the recommendations in the Commission’s interim report because of constrained resources and the need for specialist personnel.’
(Bushfires Royal Commission final report, p 405)

The Commission said the Brumby Government should examine whether local government required greater support, including funding, to ensure that individual councils had the capacity to implement the agreed changes.

“As part of the Royal Commission recommendations, councils will be expected to be more active in planning for bushfires, including evacuation and shelter options,” Mrs Powell said.

“Councils will also play a greater role in assessing which bushfire safety options are available in their local area in advance of a fire, and will need to include alternatives in their emergency management planning.

“The Bushfires Royal Commission interim report, released last year, delegated responsibility for Neighbourhood Safer Places to the Brumby Government which shifted this enormous task to councils.

“Despite handballing this huge responsibility on to councils, John Brumby allocated only $1 million to help them comply with the new regulations.”

Mrs Powell said the Royal Commission’s final report vindicated calls by the Coalition and the Municipal Association of Victoria for greater funding to assist councils protect their communities from bushfires.

‘Those councils that face the need to apply substantial resources and effort to make their communities more bushfire safe are in many cases those that are the least well resourced. The State should consider whether further local government funding is needed to ensure that a lack of funding does not inhibit the introduction of necessary and agreed changes.’
(Bushfires Royal Commission final report summary, p 21)

“The Victorian Liberal Nationals Coalition will implement all the Bushfires Royal Commission recommendations in government and so I urge John Brumby to stop making excuses and take real action on behalf of bushfire-prone communities,” Mrs Powell said.

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