Member for Scenic Rim, Jon Krause, has lashed National Parks ‘mismanagement’ at Carney’s Creek and Maroon fires as the state LNP calls for an inquiry into the September bushfires in the Lamington National Park, Illinbah and Sarabah valleys.
Mr Krause, backed the calls for an inquiry and said the problems did not stop with those fires.
“It is a scandal - I’ve seen with my own eyes the damage caused by mismanagement of our National Parks,” Mr Krause said.
“There is lantana everywhere in the National Park – it is shocking how National Parks have allowed it to get away on them – and burning lantana is like pouring fuel on the fire in these tinderbox conditions.”
“As fire often spreads from National Parks into neighbouring freehold land, there are serious questions to be asked about management of National Parks and other state-owned land - from Central Queensland fires in 2018, from Canungra, Sarabah and Beechmont fires in 2019 and now in our region here south of Boonah.”
He said the state government had cost landholders a lot of money and firefighters were putting their lives and livelihoods on the line to fight the fires.
LNP Shadow Minister for Fire and Emergency Services, Lachlan Millar, said the opposition was concerned with the number of organisations involved in the management of the fire.
Feedback about decision-making during the fires, with six different bodies involved in decision-making, has seen concerns raised that this multitude of bodies affected the management of the fire and the properties and wellbeing of residents,” said LNP Shadow Minister for Fire and Emergency Services, Lachlan Millar MP.
“Communication was an issue too, with some members of the public expressing concern that they didn’t know who was making the decisions and they didn’t know who to listen to,” Mr Millar said.
He referred to reports that some residents received “robocalls” and didn’t know if the information applied to them.
“These sorts of issues are exactly why I called for a public, bipartisan, parliamentary inquiry after last year’s bushfires. Instead, we had an internal review. So we will never know what concerns were raised in over 40 submissions.
“We will never know if those submissions, all made in a spirit of public service to Queensland, resulted in one iota of improvement.
“Now the Minister has arranged for exactly the same internal review by the Inspector General into these fires.”
Mr Krause said taking into account local knowledge was key to making sure bushfires were well managed.
“This is a part of Queensland where local knowledge is vital because of rugged terrain and local trails. However, it has always been a part of Queensland that locally managed and understood its fire risks very well. That needs to be taken into account,” he said.
“I would also highlight that my constituents are still picking up the pieces after these fires. They are struggling with decontamination of water supplies, rebuilding and emotional trauma.
“I must express disappointment that Labor’s recovery co-ordinator Ian Stewart is on leave at this vital time in the recovery phase.”