Policy cites treating 5% of public land yearly
Friends of the Earth has criticised the Coalition’s fuel reduction policy in Victoria after Shadow Minister for Public Land Management Melina Bath announced it ahead of the November 2026 Victorian election.
The Coalition would pursue a percentage target for planned burning. It cited the Bushfires Royal Commission, which said at least 5% of public land should be treated annually.
Cam Walker, campaigns co-ordinator with Friends of the Earth, said: “As fire seasons become longer and more intense under climate change, pushing land managers to meet hectare targets is a recipe for disaster”.
Walker also criticised Coalition rhetoric about reducing bureaucracy in fuel reduction work. He said the Planned Burn Operation Officer conducting an operation makes the final decision on whether a burn proceeds, and he argued that removing so-called red tape could affect safety.
FFMV says burn conditions are harder to predict
Forest Fire Management Victoria is the authority tasked with carrying out fuel reduction on public lands.
According to FFMV, ideal weather conditions for planned burning are becoming harder to predict, making it more difficult to safely burn off forest fuels such as dry leaves, wood and soil that become bushfire fuel.
Walker said a return to a percentage target was dangerous and irresponsible for two reasons. He argued large areas remote from human settlement may be burnt to meet targets, which could bring ecological costs. He also said the target could push land managers to attempt burns in conditions that are not optimal for safe operations.
“It would be very unfair to push burn officers and crews to proceed in risky conditions in order to meet targets,” Walker said.
Friends of the Earth said current fuel reduction measures take a risk reduction approach. The group argued fuel reduction is most effective close to human assets such as houses, rather than in forested areas remote from settlement.
A final report into the Victorian Fires of 2026 was being prepared. In that process, the conservative parties on the cross party committee, the Liberals, Nationals and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, opted to try to vote down Finding 2, which noted that climate change is making fire seasons longer and more intense.
Walker, who is an active volunteer firefighter and a member of the CFA Planned Burn Taskforce, said the parties had “compounded the error of ignoring mainstream science by backing a potentially dangerous percentage target”.
