The Grant District Council is investigating ways of reducing the fuel loads of forests and roadsides across the Limestone Coast. Councillors last week voted to write to the 2021 Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) General Assembly to engage governments of all levels to fund and look at ways to reduce fuel loads.

A motion to write to ALGA, the national voice of local government which represents 537 councils across Australia, was moved by Councillor Bruce Bain and carried by council. It followed Mayor Richard Sage voicing concerns over the current state of Limestone Coast public forests and roadsides and their fuel loads, as reported in the council’s February 2021 meeting agenda.

“With many of the states of Australia having to deal with raging bushfires being exacerbated by seasonal changes and longer dry spells with summers with exceptional winds, action is required now to ensure we can control to the best of our ability some of the incidences that have come before us,” Mayor Sage said.

“We request state and federal government investigate how we can get three tiers of government to work together to find solutions that prevent fires and/or reduce the impact of these wildfires to protect our communities, native animals, the degradation of bushland and farmland in regional areas.”

Now carried, the motion would see the council write to the 2021 ALGA General Assembly to request it consider engaging the state and territories, the federal government and local government to fund and look at ways to reduce the fuel loads on Limestone Coast roadsides and native forests to protect life and property.

Convened annually by the ALGA, the National General Assembly of Local Government is the peak annual event for local government, attracting more than 800 mayors and councillors each year.

The event provides an opportunity for local governments to engage with the Federal Government, as a means to develop national policy and to influence the future direction of the ALGA’s councils and its communities.