Hazard reduction and backburning were identified as areas for improvement in the NSW Bushfire Inquiry, with the report's authors acknowledging the uncertainty around their effectiveness as methods of fire control.
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The state government announced on Tuesday it had approved, in principle, all 76 recommendations from the inquiry, which Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott described as "wide-ranging".
The inquiry was led by Dave Owens APM and Professor Mary O'Kane AC, and its executive summary states the 2019-20 bushfire season "challenged conventional assumptions".
"Previous prescribed burning and hazard reduction activity appears to have reduced fire severity in some instances, but in others it appears to have had no effect on the severity and spread of the fires," it states.
The summary also states the "extreme dryness of forested regions over large continuous areas was the determining factor in the size of the fires".
Still, the inquiry recommended government support local councils and partner agencies to implement more comprehensive hazard reduction at a local level, as well as provide incentives for communities to organise such initiatives themselves.
This could take the form of prescribed burning, clearing, mowing or disposing of green waste by turning it into biofuels.
In response to the inquiry's final report Jo Dodds, Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action president and Bega Valley Shire Councillor, called on the NSW and federal governments to step up emissions reduction measures.
"The inquiry has echoed what scientists and fire experts have been saying for decades: climate change is increasing bushfire risk and severity, and making usual fire management methods such as hazard reduction burning less effective," she said.
"For starters, the NSW government must accelerate its net zero plan, and reject new coal and gas projects like the Narrabri coal seam gas project.
"The federal government is also miles behind the states and territories, which all have net zero emissions targets in place."
AAP reported landowners across NSW will be obliged to conduct more hazard-reduction burns on their properties and take an active role in bushfire preparation after the state government accepted all the inquiry's recommendations.
But when discussing hazard reduction in a media conference on Tuesday, NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Rob Rogers said landowners already had rights on their properties, as well as obligations to ensure a fire did not leave their property.
The inquiry also recommended government commit to pursing a greater application of Indigenous Australian land management, including cultural burning.
To ensure people had information on cross-border fires the NSW Rural Fire Service's Fires Near Me app was recommended to incorporate information on fires in neighbouring states and territories, and the service was also recommended to collaborate to develop a national warnings app.
Also, the inquiry recommended government develop a new NSW Bush Fire Policy to "accommodate changing climate conditions and the increasing likelihood of catastrophic bush fire conditions".
To read the report from the inquiry click here.