Forest Products Industry

The NSW Government has launched a new multi-agency taskforce in a bid to accelerate hazard reduction and better protect communities across NSW. Taskforce Fire Guard will bring together fire agencies and land managers to strengthen coordination and prioritise high risk areas over the coming months. Source: Timberbiz Operating from the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) State Operations Centre, the taskforce will use predictive services and weather intelligence to support agencies to target efforts where they are needed most, said Minister for Emergency Services, Jihad Dib. Participating agencies include the RFS, Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Forestry Corporation of NSW, Crown Lands and Transport for NSW. “Taskforce Fire Guard brings agencies together to ensure we are making the most of every opportunity to reduce bushfire risk and protect communities,” said Minister Dib. “It will strengthen how we plan and deliver hazard reduction across the state, particularly as weather conditions allow work to increase. “This is a commonsense approach to hazard reduction that brings all agencies together with a sole focus of coordinated and planned hazard reduction activities. “This is about making sure every part of the system is working together, using the best available information, to reduce bush fire risk and protect lives and communities across NSW.” The centralised body will support existing local arrangements by coordinating resources and using technology to plan and deliver hazard reduction more efficiently across the state. Current conditions have created a valuable window for hazard reduction activity with burns underway across multiple regions, said RFS Commissioner Trent Curtin. The activities are reducing fuel loads, helping to lower fire intensity and better protect communities ahead of future fire seasons. “We’re dealing with higher fuel loads and increasingly narrow windows to safely carry out hazard reduction,” said Commissioner Curtin. “This taskforce allows us to better prioritise and coordinate work across agencies, focusing effort where it will have the greatest operational impact. “Hazard reduction is one of the most effective ways to reduce bushfire risk, and we will take advantage of favourable conditions wherever possible to safely carry out this work across multiple regions. “While people may see or smell smoke, these burns are carefully planned and closely monitored to ensure community safety.” Since 1 July 2025, agencies have treated 45,000 hectares across NSW, helping to protect more than 127,000 properties through a targeted focus. “Task Force Fire Guard is about strengthening how agencies work together to deliver hazard reduction burns where it will make the greatest difference to community safety. “It does not replace existing planning or command arrangements, rather it supports them by improving coordination, situational awareness and access to specialist capability, enabling agencies to take advantage of the narrow windows available when conditions are right,” said Fire and Rescue NSW, Acting Commissioner Mick Morris. “Fire and Rescue NSW’s contribution is focused on the urban interface and structure risk, supporting our endorsed bushfire mitigation plans and safe integration with our broader emergency response.” A list and map of planned burns can be found on the RFS website at www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/hr or download the Hazards Near Me app for information on upcoming hazard reduction burns in ‘Watch Zone’.  

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Labor’s chronic underfunding of our Country Fire Authority (CFA) was laid bare at a Parliamentary Inquiry last week, with recent government funding announcements falling well short of reversing the damage according to the Liberal Opposition. Source: Timberbiz CFA Chief Executive, Greg Leach, confirmed the organisation was not meeting fleet renewal benchmarks, including the turning over of tankers at 20 years of age and pumpers at 15. He acknowledged that a $65 million per year investment would be needed just to maintain the current age of the CFA fleet, a far cry from Labor’s recent $10 million per year promise for the next 10 years. He also revealed there are 802 single-cab tankers in the CFA fleet. This contradicts earlier Department of Justice and Community Safety evidence that put the figure at 627 during Public Accounts and Estimates Committee hearings six months ago. CFA Chief Officer, Jason Heffernan, admitted to the inquiry that CFA staff shortages led to “some deficiencies” in affected districts. He confirmed he had formally raised concerns with the Emergency Management Commissioner ahead of the fire season and issued a “qualified attestation” about the CFA’s readiness ahead of summer due to the staff shortages. This attestation has not been made public. He also confirmed unfilled vacancies existed in District 22 at the time of the Longwood fire in January but could not say how many. Fire Services Implementation Monitor, Niall Blair, warned the inquiry the vacancies were “leaving vulnerabilities across the state”. Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Minister for Emergency Services, Danny O’Brien, said Labor continued to under-resource the CFA and leave regional Victoria vulnerable. “We knew the CFA was under-resourced going into the fire season and not getting enough support to upgrade fire trucks. Today’s hearings confirmed this. “The ageing firefighting fleet will only get older under this government, with volunteers forced to sit in the open air in single-cab trucks exposed to the smoke, dust and here for another decade if Labor win again in November. “Labor can’t manage money and it’s our firefighters and regional communities who are paying the price. “The Liberals and Nationals will stop the waste, scrap the tax on volunteers, and back our community firefighters to keep them safe and our communities protected.”

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