Geoscience Reference
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vegetation. In some states, mapping is left to local governments, while in others
it is the responsibility of the state. Given substantial projected increases in fire
weather, the accurate mapping of increased bushfire risk should not be left to
individual local authorities whose budgets are subjected to numerous competing
demands. Acting on a recommendation of the Victorian Bushfires Royal
Commission (VBRC), the Victorian Department of Planning and Community
Development has developed a statewide Bushfire Overlay, informed by hazard
mapping from the Department of Sustainability and Environment and the
Country Fire Authority, for introduction into all planning schemes (White,
2011).
Some planning instruments make general reference to the increase in
bushfire risk posed by climate change (State of Queensland, 2003; State of
WA, 2006), but provide no formal mechanism by which that risk is to be
considered. Data on future climate should inform the mapping of bushfire
areas, but it appears that the rigour with which that currently occurs depends
on the resources of the agency responsible. In Queensland, State Planning
Policy 1/03 'Mitigating the adverse impacts of flood, bushfire and landslide'
requires the identification of hazard areas and consideration of a lot's suscep-
tibility to these hazards but the Policy implementation guidelines currently
provide that inclusion of climate change impacts in bushfire assessment is not
considered feasible and is therefore not required (State of Queensland, 2003a;
2003b Schedule 3). In Victoria, mapping for the new Bushfire Management
Overlay is based on vegetation classes. It takes into account fuel loads, patch
sizes and buffers for dealing with areas that may be vulnerable to ember attack.
The potential impacts of climate change on bushfire behaviour have been
taken into account largely by favouring a more conservative approach to
mapping the overlay (Macintosh et al., 2012).
The bushfire planning framework in most states and territories aims to
avoid locating major new residential development and vulnerable uses
in areas designated as highly bushfire prone, or to mitigate risks though
development controls relating to mandatory access and egress require-
ments, dedicated water supply, construction standards and defendable space
prescriptions.
On 7 February 2009, Victoria had the worst bushfires in the nation's recorded
history when, on 'Black Saturday' - a day of exceptionally high temperatures
and winds - fire claimed 173 human lives and destroyed 2,029 homes. Since
then, bushfire planning and protection in Victoria have undergone the most
significant reforms. The Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission found that the
State Protection from Wildfire Policy was completely inadequate (VBRC, 2010,
ch. 6 ; White, 2011) because it afforded no guidance on how local councils should
identify bushfire risk areas or exercise their discretion in relation to development
approvals in bushfire prone areas, particularly in guiding how to balance bushfire
risk reduction and biodiversity conservation (White, 2011). The new State
Planning Policy Framework provisions prioritize the protection of human life
over other policy considerations (State of Victoria, 2012), while the Bushfire
 
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