A most revealing series of Council’s answers. One can read that:
– Council does not have sufficient resources to assess all land under its care and control, and says it cannot even identify and manage the bushfire buffer zones as defined within its infamous KI Bushfire Risk Management Plan
– Council management of fire notices is lacking
– On the matter of fire notices, Council does not itself practice what it imposes onto others
– Council has a poor grasp of bushfire exit roads for threatened communities
All this in addition to Council’s obvious unwillingness to learn from the two large fires of the past season (Cygnet River fire and Baudin Beach fire).
[My own comments thereafter are between square brackets]. — G. Bittar
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Questions on Notice by councillor Graham Walkom for the Kangaroo Island Council Meeting 2013.03.13
Fire hazard compliance
Answers by Andrew Boardman, KI Council CEO
Questions:
1. For each of the following years up to the commencement of the Fire Season that year: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012;
and with respect to council’s responsibility for community fire hazard compliance enforcement across the sixteen listed communities in the KI Bushfire Risk Management Plan (KIBFRMP) that are classified as
Extreme Fire Risk: (viz Parndarna Township, Pt Ellen, Vivonne Bay, Island Beach, Sapphiretown, Western Cove East, Brown Beach North, Baudin Beach South);
Very High Fire Risk (viz Muston Settlement, American River North, Longview Road American River, American River Wharf, American River Township, Baudin Beach North, Binney’s Track Penneshaw)
and High Fire Risks; (viz Kingscote North and West fringes, Brownlow, Brownlow West, Cygnet River, Emu Bay Town, Western Cove:
a. From the 12 and/or 24 month assessments required by the KIBFRMP, how many compliance notices have been issued for each of these communities?
Answer a:
Parndarna Township, Pt Ellen, Vivonne Bay, Island Beach, Sapphiretown, Brown Beach North, Baudin Beach South, Muston Settlement, Baudin Beach North, Brownlow West, Cygnet River : None issued prior to Fire Risk Season
Western Cove East, American River North, Longview Road American River, American River Wharf, American River Township, Binney’s Track Penneshaw, Kingscote North and West fringes, Brownlow, Emu Bay Town, Western Cove : As the document management system used by Council cannot be used to extract the number of notices issued within each township, the total combined number of 105F notices issued prior to the fire season was 789
[Those living in some of the areas which have received not a single notice would have good reason to be surprised. Otherwise, the total number of notices issued is not a very useful statistic; Council’s excuse for not providing the precise number of notices per town / area is a lame one: going through the files and counting by hand is not a time intensive task… That being said, obviously the “document management system used by Council” must be improved for next year…]
b. How many of these compliance notices required compliance in full accord with the CFS guidelines?
Answer b:
789 105F Notices were issued that required compliance with the CFS guidelines
c. If some required less than the CFS guidelines, why were they not required to meet those guidelines?
Answer c:
All property owners issued with 105F Notices were required to meet the guidelines as stipulated within the Notice. The prime objective of the 105F Notice is the preservation of life and property.
d. How many of these compliance notices were
i. Not complied with before the fire season commenced?
ii. Partly complied with before the fire season commenced?
iii. Fully complied with before the fire season commenced?
Answer d:
i Nil non compliance
ii Nil partial compliance
iii All 789 105F notices issued before the fire season were complied with prior to the commencement of the fire season on 1 December 2012.
e. How many compliance notices were issued requiring landowners within or adjacent these communities to ensure the CFS guidelines for Buffer Zones adjacent these communities were met?
Answer e:
Council does not have the resources to identify and manage the buffer zones as defined within the KIBRMP
[Aha ! The Emperor himself says he has no clothes ! A clear admission that the so-called “Kangaroo Island Bushfire Risk Management Plan” is useless; when will we be rid of this cover-leaf that’s actually a hindrance to a practical and efficient prevention strategy ?]
f. How many compliance notices were issued requiring council to reduce fire hazards on its own land or land it manages such as reserves within or near the above at risk communities?
Answer f:
No notices were issued under section 105F of the Fire and Emergency Services Act 2005 on these lands. Section 105F notices only refer to privately owned land.
[Well, considering the dire state of many of the Council reserves, wich have basically become fuel reserves, it should ! Actually, the rumour is that Council’s fire officers did serve due notices to Council itself. Has there been administrative erasing activity here ?…]
g. If any such reserves received notices, in which areas were they and how many in each area?
Answer g:
This is not applicable.
h. Were any reserves in these areas assessed as in compliance with CFS guidelines?
Answer h:
This is not applicable. Council does not have sufficient resources to assess all land under its care and control.
[There we go again. So Council is putting at risk the community, and it knows that. Now never in its history did Councill have so much money at its disposal. The fact that it does not satisfy its core, legal responsibilities (of which fire management is one), but rather spends more and more money on bureaucratic expansion, is a sure sign of mismanagement of ratepayers’ finances.]
2. How many of the twenty five listed communities requiring 12 or 24 month hazard assessments in the KIBFRMP that are classified as Extreme, Very High or High fire risk, have more than one choice of standard vehicle egress in the event of road blockage from any cause on high fire danger days?
Answer 2:
Out of the twenty-four communities listed as Extreme, Very High, or High Fire Risk, thirteen have more than one choice of exit during a bushfire, as detailed below:
Extreme Fire Risk:
Parndarna Township Yes – Roland Hill Highway, Wedgewood
Rd, Jones St, Smith St
Pt Ellen No
Vivonne Bay, No
Island Beach, Yes – Mitchell Dr and Island Beach Rd
Sapphire Town Yes – Mitchell Dr and Island Beach Rd
Western Cove East No
Brown Beach North No
Baudin Beach South Yes – Collins Cres, Palm St, Bessell Dr
Very High Fire Risk:
Muston Settlement Yes – Muston Rd both directions
American River North Yes – Wattle Dr & Scenic Drive
Longview Road American River No
American River Wharf Yes – Tangara Dr, then via Redbanks Rd or
Buick Dr
American River Township Yes – Tangara Dr, Redbanks Rd, Wattle Rd
Baudin Beach North Yes – Collins Cres, Palm St, Bessell Dr
Binney’s Track Penneshaw No
High Fire Risks:
Kingscote North and West fringes Yes – Playford Highway, Bullock Track
Brownlow Yes – Playford Highway, Burdon Dr
Brownlow West Yes – Burdon Dr, Tin Smith Rd
Cygnet River Yes – Playford Highway, both directions,
then North via Gum Creek Rd, or South via
Arramore Rd
Emu Bay Town No
Western Cove No
Footnote:
Report was compiled by the Environmental Services Team
[Hmmm… A number of these answers are arguable. One is definitely false. American River North: “Yes – Wattle Dr & Scenic Drive“; Wattle Drive is a firetruck drive, unsuitable for normal cars, that leads straight into the massive bush and forestry zone which is situated north to the town, into the probable incoming direction of a dangerous and massive bushfire… So to to pretend that American River North has more than one choice of exit during a bushfire is misleading – no pun intended.]