Category Archives: Fire Management

Kalimna: weeds, fuel, fire

FOBIF has produced a weed map of the south western corner of Kalimna Park. This section of about 24 ha—essentially  the area from Kalimna Point to the golf course— is currently scheduled as a DSE Zone 1 asset protection burn … Continue reading

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FOBIF loses at VCAT on Diamond Gully development

The objections by FOBIF and some local residents to current proposals to build a housing development at Diamond Gully were rejected at the Victorian Administrative Appeals Tribunal in December. The VCAT decision was reported in detail in the Midland Express … Continue reading

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Poverty Gully Burning [1]: what’s it for?

The Poverty Gully management burn [CAS 008] was a Zone 1 fuel reduction exercise covering 99.6 hectares on the Castlemaine town side of the Dingo Park road, north of Poverty Gully Track. It was conducted late last year. The Arthur’s … Continue reading

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Poverty Gully Burning [2]: a review

Here are some impressions of the Poverty Gully burns. We’ve divided them into six sections, and would be interested in any further member comments. We’ve made no effort to assess the burns’ success in reducing fuel. The interdepartmental shemozzle problem … Continue reading

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‘Due consideration’: does this mean, ‘Not interested’?

FOBIF has received a reply from the Minister for Bushfire Response, Peter Ryan. We asked him if he had considered Royal Commission Monitor Neil Comrie’s recommendation that the five per cent burning target be revised. It’s now clear from the … Continue reading

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Burning season under way

With DSE starting burns around Castlemaine, it’s worth clarifying what the Department’s targets are. The following has been supplied to us by DSE for land within the Murray Goldfields district: Zone: 1. Asset protection 2. Bushfire management 3. Landscape management … Continue reading

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We have the answer, but where’s the answer? [and what’s Hawkeye?]

FOBIF has had another go at finding out what if anything the Government intends to do about the Royal Commission Monitor’s suggestion that the five per cent target be revised. The letter we received from DSE Director of Fire, Lee … Continue reading

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Questions to the minister…and answers

In October FOBIF wrote to the Minister for Bushfire Recovery, Peter Ryan, the Minister for Conservation, Ryan Smith, and the National Party member for Northern Victoria, Damian Drum, regarding the government’s planned burning program. We asked how the Government was … Continue reading

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Fire meeting

On 1st November a concerned group of people from Castlemaine, Bendigo and surrounding areas, meeting in the Chewton Town Hall, decided to form a network to lobby and campaign for major changes to the State Government’s current and forthcoming fuel … Continue reading

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Bendigo fire meeting [1]: what’s happening on the ground?

On Tuesday October 9 DSE officials met with about 30 individuals and representatives of conservation groups to discuss outcomes of the consultation process around the Fire Operations Plan. The discussion was limited by the fact that the biggest factor in … Continue reading

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