Awareness and voices are raised in criticism of government officials who restricted firebreak cutting and exacerbated the loss of lives, property and animals in Australia’s ferocious bush fires.
“We’ve lost two people in my family because you dickheads won’t cut trees down,” Warwick Spooner told Nillumbik Mayor Bo Bendtsen at a [council] meeting on Tuesday night.
“Although Liam Sheahan’s 2002 decision to disregard planning laws and bulldoze 250 trees on his hilltop property hurt his family financially and emotionally, he believes it helped save them and their home on the weekend.
“The house is safe because we did all that,” he said as he pointed out his kitchen window to the clear ground where tall gum trees once cast a shadow on his house.
“We have got proof right here. We are the only house standing in a two-kilometre area.”
Sydney Morning Herald
Allowing Greenies to influence local bodies while ignoring the requests of much more experienced rural landowners in handling Australia’s fire risk was guaranteed to end in tears.
“Mr Sheahan is still angry about his prosecution, which cost him $100,000 in fines and legal fees.
The council’s planning laws allow trees to be cleared only when they are within six metres of a house. Mr Sheahan cleared trees up to 100 metres away from his house. “The council stood up in court and made us to look like the worst, wanton environmental vandals on the earth. We’ve got thousands of trees on our property. We cleared about 247,” he said.
He said the royal commission on the fires must result in changes to planning laws to allow land owners to clear trees and vegetation that pose a fire risk.
“Both the major parties are pandering to the Greens for preferences and that is what is causing the problem. Common sense isn’t that common these days,” Mr Sheahan said.”
The same thing is happening here in NZ because we are also pandering to the Greens resulting in the highest amount of imported coal in this country since 2006. And it’s only going to get worse with the cessation of granting new exploration licences.
“Melbourne University bushfire expert Kevin Tolhurst gave evidence to help the Sheahan family in their legal battle with the council.
“Their fight went over nearly two years. The Sheahans were victimised. It wasn’t morally right,” he said yesterday.
Dr Tolhurst told the Seymour Magistrates court that Mr Sheahan’s clearing of the trees had reduced the fire risk to his house from extreme to moderate.
“That their house is still standing is some natural justice for the Sheahans,” he said.
There is, of course, no real justice for the human and animal deaths or the loss of property. Best case scenario is a growing awareness of ludicrous Green policy that will create a political backlash and common sense will once again prevail. We would welcome politicians on both sides of the Tasman who represent sensible people who understand both the environment and the economy.