NSW Farmers rural affairs committee chair Garry Grant said farmers now faced less red tape when trying to make their properties safer.
“Under an amendment to the Rural Fires Act 1997, rural landowners will be able to clear up to 25 m on their property from the boundary without onerous approvals,” Mr Grant said.
“This will enable farmers to develop firebreaks around their properties without needing to face bureaucratic hurdles.”
In addition, the NSW RFS commissioner now has clearer powers when it comes to ensuring appropriate hazard reduction is performed on public lands.
The commissioner can now order public authorities to clear vegetation in national parks and other public land where it might endanger people and property.
NSW Farmers conservation and resource management committee chair Bronwyn Petrie said the new clearing rules did not counter habitat conservation.
“Bushfires pose a greater threat to biodiversity, as was demonstrated over the 2019-20 summer when huge swathes of public land in NSW was destroyed by major fires,” Ms Petrie said.
NSW Police and Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said a code would be developed to address the issue of clearing in endangered and threated species habitat as well as clearing for non-bushfire reasons.
The amendment to the Rural Fires Act 1997 was passed on October 7.
“The new laws are based on the expert operational advice of the NSW RFS,” Mr Elliott said.
“There will be stiff fines for people that leave their communities vulnerable to bushfires, with penalties set to be doubled for corporations and public landowners that fail to meet their obligations.
“If public authorities fail to clear lands, the NSW RFS will step in.”
NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Rob Rogers welcomed the additional powers.
“The changes to the legislation reflect the clear recommendations from the NSW Bushfire Inquiry, and will help the NSW Rural Fire Service in its role to manage and better protect communities across the state from bushfires,” he said.
New provisions will also allow the NSW RFS to appoint and direct ‘industry’ brigades, and to allow for the appointment of a representative of Aboriginal land councils on the state’s peak Bushfire Coordinating Committee.
