National parks good neighbour policy call from north west landholders

Property owners in the north west whose country abuts or is near public land have backed frustrations voiced by central Queensland grazier Sid Godwin regarding backburning decisions, and about the amount of preparation done in the Carnarvon National Park.

Cattle producers in the Prairie-Torrens Creek region and above Hughenden say they have concerns with how bushfires are approached by upper QPWS management, along with the cost in fuel and time they've expended on behalf of property in public ownership.

"We've been fighting bushfires up here for a month and we're very disgruntled," Jo Murphy from Clothes Peg Station north of Hughenden said.

Deliberately lit fires in three places on the Hann Highway have impacted Blackbraes National Park as well as neighbouring properties, but Ms Murphy said the job was made much more difficult by the lack of wide breaks, a lack of firefighting equipment, and restricted hours that national park staff could work, on the park.

"We're not out to make a war, we just want to make it better," she said.

"We're talking about a good neighbour policy, if they want to live among us, and what it looks like.

"It's about having your breaks in by September, cool boundary burns, more repeater towers in really hilly country, and being prepared to be on the fire ground for as long as it takes."

She said parks staff regularly left for fatigue management, regardless of the severity of the fire, whereas her husband and son had worked for 80 hours each, with only two two-hour breaks each.

"They had to, or they would lose the fire," she said.

Writing on social media at the start of November, Ms Murphy said the 'monster fire' had covered in excess of 300 square miles, and described national parks as a threat to the livelihoods of surrounding grazing communities.

"(It) has resulted now, threat to native animals, rangelands and people," she posted. "Fighting bush fires is frightening - add a fuel load from a national park, it's cruel, hundreds of burnt animals, and livestock threatened."

Her frustration was compounded by what she said was a refusal of a request for a second food and water order from the Rural Fire Service at Mount Isa.

"I was told, we can't spend public money until we know the situation," she said. "When somebody came along with a mop-up unit to look, he drove back into Hughenden twice for a bed, to write reports. Talk about spending public money."

She commended the organisation for an earlier delivery of steak and powerade and people to cook.

"That was a big help," she said.

Ms Murphy said estimates were that around $200,000 had been spent so far by graziers in fuel for choppers, planes, graders and vehicles, in containing the fires.

She bemoaned the lack of permanent staff at the park and therefore the inability to make them part of the firefighting 'community'.

Further south, helicopter pilot and Torrens Creek property owner Peter Weston said local people he'd been dealing with to manage the bushfire in White Mountain National Park had been good to work with, but he thought there was a lack of understanding about how fires react.

"They seem to be in a more sit and wait mode, whereas for us, timing is critical, especially when permission is needed from Firecom for a decision," he said.

"You have to consider the time taken to put in a break and then backburn.

"They might not know how well we know the country."

Mr Weston did comment that there were still not enough firebreaks in the park, "the same old story".

"White Mountain is 700 or 800 square miles - areas in the north are unfenced and inaccessible gorge country - it would be good to have tracks to help manage fires there," he said.

He said the zone the fire was in was prone to bushfire outbreaks, with the Flinders Highway and railway line running through it, and with a lack of grazing pressure in the park.

"It doesn't take a lot to start a fire there," he said.

Mr Weston said firefighters were finding it difficult to communication over HF radio in conditions of thick smoke and hilly country, which was where having someone like himself in the air was helpful.

He was also in favour of financial support for the many volunteers on the ground.

"We've had three loaders, two graders and two choppers going, plus all the vehicles - it would be good to get fuel reimbursement for that," he said.