The Albanese Government says it is prepared for a potentially devastating summer of bushfires, with work underway to replace dangerous forest and bushland with firesafe open-cut coal mines.
Announcing the project today, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said research showed that 100% of bushfires occurred in areas where trees were present. “If you eliminate the trees, you eliminate the bushfires. You never hear of bushfires in coal mines. Loy Yang has never had a bushfire. Mount Arthur Coal Mine has never had a bushfire. So we’re just following the science – removing the fuel that bushfires rely on”.
She said two million hectares of dangerous bushland will be removed and replaced with coal mines. “We want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to reduce the chance of devastating bushfires for future generations”.
Rio Tinto has been awarded the initial tree-removal contract. Although Rio Tinto is not a coal mining company, Plibersek said it was chosen due to its experience in bulldozing important sties without experiencing repercussions.
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Headline by Matt Harvey @mattharveystuff
