Thank you for the opportunity to provide a submission to the Intent to vary Code of Practice for Bushfire Management on Public Land. We understand that the changes are minor and relate to an extension until 2024. It is disappointing however that opportunities have not been taken to make interim improvements to the code.
VFF has made many submissions to DELWP on fire and emergency management over the past five years. There has been little change from these processes. It is important that DELWP understands that IGEM Terms of Reference did not allow the considerations of agricultural aspects of ‘life and property’.
VFF is identifying the issues that must be properly reviewed over the next 2 years to ensure that the Code of Practice is able to deliver its primary objectives as the current methodologies of using a dwelling as the indicator for life and property is leading to perverse outcomes for agriculture and embedding an urban bias across preparedness, response and recovery activities.
Click the link below to download the full submission