ACROSS Australia from Perth to country Victoria in the past few weeks, dozens of homes have been destroyed in the latest summer heatwave.
It should come as no surprise with councils and governments still stuck in the ludicrous obsession with “saving vegetation” that can be destroyed in a matter of minutes by wildfires driven by hot, dry heatwave winds.
Perth, which suffered destructive wildfires in January 2021, 2023 and 2025, has again been battling wildfires in the southern suburbs of Warnbro and Waikiki with the help of a C130 dropping pink fire retardant on the Rockingham Lakes Regional Park. So much for environmentalism.
So what is the local Rockingham City Council’s attitude to vegetation? Basically, grow more. They call it an “urban forest strategy”.
“The City’s vision is for a resilient, sustainable urban forest in Rockingham that enhances ecological, social and economic well-being. By expanding the tree canopy and engaging the community, we aim to create a greener, healthier and more connected environment for future generations,” the council says.
If the bureaucrats and councillors who put that together had any brains, they would be specifically be promoting fire-resistant species.
The lessons have still not been learned – most dense native shrub species – the ones that are so popular among home gardeners and council park departments – are instant and explosive fuel for fires.
It’s the same in Victoria and NSW, where popular suburban “nature reserves” are little more than guaranteed fuel for wildfire in heatwave conditions. By contrast, exotic European and Asian tree and shrub species can actually resist fire – something the colonial settlers understood.
Victoria, dominated by Labor-Greens “vegetation laws” that protect “indigenous vegetation”, in the past week has also seen, yet again, the destructive effects of wildfire in suburban and rural areas.
“Out-of-control bushfires are continuing to rip through Victoria with at least 130 homes and buildings across the state lost and more than 300,000 hectares of land burned,” the ABC reported.
We have to ask: Have lessons been learned from Victoria’s 2009 Black Friday bushfires?
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbot says fires these days are more intense and fierce than those he fought as a paid NSW fire fighter in the 1980s and early 90s, with Davidson Rural Fire Brigade.
“I was a paid fire fighter for nearly 15 years in the 80’s and early 90’s, with the FCV (forward command vehicle). Fought my share of fires, never ever saw anything like what’s happening now,” Abbot recently posted on social media.
“In those days, we would do controlled cool fuel reduction burns in the Spring and late Autumn, we would maintain bush tracks. We allowed Cattle to graze in the High Country and allowed Stock to feed on roadside vegetation.
“Landowners could sink a dam anywhere on their property, a valuable resource in any fire situation. Landowners could make and maintain fire breaks. This all led to a reduction in fuel loads in forests.
“Sure, we had droughts and we had fires, but not of the intensity and ferocity of what we see today.
“A lot of our flora relies on fire to regenerate, but when you get fires like we have now, the sheer intensity and heat generated in them destroys some of those species and any chance they may have of survival.
“There is a big difference between being a conservationist and a greenie, I know this post will piss a lot people of, that is not my intention, just my experience and opinion. Just sayin’.”
