Coalition to double prescribed burns

THE Liberals and Nationals have promised to double prescribed burning and work towards the Bushfire Royal Commission’s recommendation to treat five per cent of treatable public land annually. Shadow Minister for Public Land Management, Melina Bath, said an elected Liberal and Nationals Government would adopt a whole-of-landscape approach that combines strategic burning and, targeted fuel reduction. “The parliamentary inquiry into the 2026 summer fires, which burnt more than 440,000 hectares across Victoria and destroyed 451 homes, heard evidence Victoria entered the fire season underprepared, despite years of warnings about declining planned burning, rising fuel loads and inadequate roadside vegetation management,” Ms Bath said. “That’s why our plan takes a whole-of-landscape approach: public land, roadsides and the interface with private land. “We’ll back local brigades and land managers to get fuel reduction done when the conditions are right, not tie them up in red tape until the window has closed. “Our plan puts prevention back where it belongs, at the centre of bushfire management. “We will double prescribed burning and work towards the Royal Commission’s five per cent target, guided by science and local knowledge, to build a safer and more resilient Victoria.” The Liberals and Nationals say their plan will also: • Expand cultural burning in partnership with Indigenous Victorians, combining traditional knowledge with modern fire management to reduce bushfire risk and care for Country. • Put more boots on the ground and less bureaucracy in Melbourne, backing the people who know the land, forests and fire risks. • Restore transparency by publishing fuel management plans, targets and results, so communities can see what is promised and what is delivered. “Last year, the government cut fuel reduction work by 33 per cent, leaving less than one per cent of Victoria’s public land estate treated to reduce bushfire risk,” Ms Bath said. What currently happens Victoria has a statewide Joint Fuel Management Program addressing fuel loads on public and private land over the next three years. The program integrates a risk-focused bushfire management approach. Forest Fire Management Victoria and Country Fire Authority commit to work as one sector by sharing resources, vehicles, and other equipment and they have developed the program in consultation with local councils, wineries, tourism industry, beekeepers, flora and fauna specialists, and knowledge from local communities including Traditional Owners, key stakeholders and any other parties who registered their interest.