Rethinking Fire Management
We cannot burn our way out of climate driven megafires
For years, Victorians have been told that more burning equals safer communities. But recent research and the accelerating impacts of climate change show that logic no longer stacks up.
Extreme fire weather, hotter temperatures and longer fire seasons are the real drivers of catastrophic bushfires. No amount of planned burning can override those conditions. On the worst fire days, the only proven life saving strategy is simple:
On catastrophic fire danger days, the only option is to leave early.
Real safety means tackling climate change, protecting natural fire refuges and investing in rapid response when fires strike.
GECO is calling for a fundamental rethink of fire management in Victoria.
GECO volunteers are regularly on the ground across East Gippsland's forests, monitoring planned burns, their impacts, sensitive habitats and threatened species. This work has exposed serious failures in how fire operations are planned and delivered.
Without community oversight, much of this damage would never be seen.
Our monitoring continues to reveal:
Burns occurring in high conservation value forests
Environmental protections being ignored
Poor oversight of contractors and machinery
Government agencies cannot be allowed to mark their own homework.
In Errinundra, planned burns and fire management works damaged critical frog habitat in areas known to support threatened species.
Heavy machinery was driven through breeding sites despite prior mapping and on the ground warnings. This damage was preventable.
GECO:
Documented the destruction
Reported and escalated complaints up to the Environment Minister's desk
Pushed relentlessly for accountability
After sustained pressure, we identified responsible decision makers within DEECA. Our advocacy forced internal reviews and changes to systems within the department.
The outcome:
Improved biodiversity safeguards, stronger internal processes and greater scrutiny of fire operations in sensitive habitats.
Mature, wet forests are natural fire buffers. They burn less often, less intensely and help slow fire spread. Yet these forests continue to be degraded by inappropriate fire regimes. East Gippsland contains the highest concentration of rainforest communities and the largest remaining extent of wet forest Ecological Vegetation Classes in Victoria, ecosystems that retain moisture, reduce fire intensity, and act as natural buffers against bushfires.
We should be protecting wet forests, not treating them as fuel.
Research shows:
Broadscale burning in remote forests does not protect towns: fuel treatment is most effective close to communities and assets, while broadscale burning far from towns often delivers limited risk reduction for houses, especially under severe fire weather (Florec et al. 2019).
Some burns increase flammability by opening forest canopies: some studies suggest that where burning repeatedly resets forest structure, it can promote dense, near ground fuels and reduce canopy shelter, increasing flammability for longer periods after the burn in some ecosystems (Zylstra et al. 2022)
Large scale or frequent prescribed burning can cause long term ecological harm in fire sensitive ecosystems, while area based burning targets do not reliably correlate with reduced risk to life and property (Lindenmayer et al. 2020, Royal Commission into the 2009 Victorian Bushfires implementation monitoring; Victorian Environmental Assessment Council evidence reviews)
Hollow bearing trees are irreplaceable habitat for hundreds of Australian species, including owls, parrots, gliders and bats. These trees take centuries to form and once lost, they are not replaced within meaningful ecological timeframes.
DEECA research led by Lucas Bluff in Gippsland found that planned burns cause significant losses of hollow bearing trees. Trees directly exposed to fire were almost 28 times more likely to collapse than unburnt trees, with around one in four collapsing after a single planned burn . Many were completely destroyed, permanently removing critical nesting and shelter sites.
Repeated burning compounds this damage. Even low intensity burns progressively reduce the number of large, old trees that wildlife depends on, steadily hollowing out forest ecosystems from the inside.
At the same time, widespread roadside tree clearing across East Gippsland, often carried out by contractors formerly working under VicForests, is further eroding hollow bearing tree habitat. Roadside reserves are vital wildlife corridors and refuges, yet clearing frequently occurs with limited transparency and minimal ecological scrutiny.
Protecting hollow bearing trees must be central to any credible, science led approach to fire management.
In a state decimated by the black summer bushfires with communities still recovering; incredibly DEECA intends to burn 60,000 hectares inside the Snowy River National park. 60,000 hectares inside a National Park! GECO is deeply concerned as the planned burn disregards established fire science and has been advanced with limited public information or transparency.
Key questions remain unanswered:
• What risk is this burn intended to reduce?
• How would it protect nearby communities?
• What are the biodiversity impacts, particularly in fire sensitive ecosystems?
• Why has no clear, public risk assessment been released?
Research shows that burning remote public land does not reliably make towns safer, especially under extreme fire weather. Risk reduction is most effective close to communities, alongside early detection and rapid response.
At the same time, investment in biodiversity science and park management continues to be cut, while broadscale burn targets are expanded regardless of scientific critique.
GECO supports evidence led fire policy. We oppose large scale, poorly justified burns in our forests that proceed without transparency, accountability, or clear safety outcomes.
Fire management affects all of us. People deserve honest information and robust scientific evidence.
We share:
Independent science
Media investigations
On ground observations
Community concerns
“We refuse to sell false hope through burn targets.”
We also acknowledge the deeper truth.
For tens of thousands of years, First Nations people cared for Country through deep knowledge, connection and responsibility. Dispossession disrupted those systems. Respecting Indigenous leadership must be part of any future fire strategy.
We are pushing for a cultural shift away from:
Treating forests as fuel loads
Ignoring biodiversity impacts
And towards:
Protecting wet forests and biodiversity
Evidence based decision making
Honest risk communication
Prepared communities
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Together, we can push for fire management that actually works.
GECO is advocating for:
• Fire management guided by evidence of what actually reduces risk to life, property, and ecosystems, not blunt hectare targets or political ideology.
• Investment in independent fire and ecological science to test assumptions, evaluate outcomes, and improve decision making.
• Strong biodiversity monitoring to identify fire sensitive ecosystems, prevent irreversible damage, and avoid actions that increase long term fire risk.
• Investment in rapid fire response capacity, including early detection, fast attack, aircraft, and well supported volunteer firefighting capabilities.
• Protection of wet forests and rainforests as natural fire buffers, through restoration and the prevention of inappropriate fire regimes.
• Strong environmental safeguards, with full adherence to state and federal environmental legislation.
• Transparent decision making and independent oversight of fire management policy and practice.
We cannot burn our way out of climate driven megafires.
The future of fire management must be smarter, safer, and grounded in the best available science, local knowledge, and First Nations leadership.