Patricia Gill, Denmark Bulletin
Five motions will be raised at the September 30 Denmark Shire Council meeting which call on the State Government to take more responsibility for prescribed burns.
The motions to be put to the September 30 council meeting were drawn up at the special electors meeting held in the Denmark Civic Centre on September 11.
Almost 100 people attended the meeting which the Friends of Harewood called for after delivering a 340-signature petition to the Shire.
The meeting was held in the lead up to a major Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions prescribed burn in Harewood Forest.
The 2924ha forest with a 49km bulldozed firebreak contains ring-tail possums, emus and black cockatoos and other fauna with many properties backing on to it.
Shire of Denmark will write to the State Government for increased insurance and accountability for escaped burns, health and wellbeing reviews, and independent ecological assessments.
Friends of Harewood convenor Sheree Webb said the morning after the special electors meeting the Friends had felt deflated when the proposed burn in the Harewood Forest was ‘live’ on the DBCA website.
No DBCA representatives had attended the special meeting though Friends of Harewood members had routinely attended the department’s meetings.
Another motion calling on the Shire to use bushfire prevention funds to invest in rapid suppression technology and DBCA restricting burning times to the seasonal limitations of property occupiers in the shire was also passed.
Shire president Kingsley Gibson said the Shire’s Mitigation Activity Fund Grants from the State Government varied between $200,000-$300,000 each year.
This could only be used for reducing bushfire fuel loads and improving safety through activities like mechanical work, firebreaks and prescribed burns.
On top of improved communication with DBCA, the meeting called for the repeal of a section of the Conservation and Land Management Act which absolves the State of civil liability from damage from prescribed burns.
Councillor Gibson said none of the matters raised in motions and forwarded to the council were under the Shire’s jurisdiction.
The Shire could decide to present those views to the State Government but they were not binding on the Shire.
Ms Webb said biodiversity exclusion zones were important and the Friends wanted more care to be taken and further studies about the impact of prescribed burning.
This should take into account the weather, rainfall and if forests or parts of forests needed in fact to be burnt.
A prescribed DBCA burn in the Walpole Nornalup National Park in December 2024 had felled 140 ancient trees.
The fire had occurred on a hot day after 18 months of low rainfall.
This article appeared in Denmark Bulletin, 18 September 2025.
