MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has been accused of a “reckless disregard” for community fire safety as several concerns, including its handling of high fuel loads, continued to pose a significant danger.
Sam Norris, a concerned local resident and Red Hill CFA brigade captain, has written to the shire calling for immediate action after highlighting a myriad of “systemic failures” that they believed had created “undue risks to public safety”.
His concerns were raised in a letter last month to the shire’s former acting chief executive officer Bulent Oz, which Norris said was a shared concern among CFA brigades across the peninsula.
It included an “alarming increase” in fuel loads across council-managed public land and roadsides “due to a lack of proper maintenance”, as well as the closure and “neglect” of fire access tracks.
“The accumulation of dry vegetation, dead wood, and overgrown brush has created a severe fire hazard, particularly in high-risk areas such as Red Hill and surrounding regions,” the letter said.
“Despite the well-documented dangers of bushfires in these areas, the council has failed to implement proactive hazard reduction measures, leaving residents, visitors, and critical infrastructure vulnerable. The absence of controlled burns, mechanical clearing, and ongoing fuel load assessments demonstrates a reckless disregard for community safety.” Access tracks, which help with an emergency response and fire suppression efforts, have deteriorated or some removed entirely, the letter said.
The letter also accused the shire of failing to ensure that contracted fire mitigation and maintenance work was completed as required, while lack of auditing and oversight regarding the work done by contractors resulted in payments being made for services that were either “substandard, incomplete, or not performed at all”.
“With emergency response capabilities hindered and fire hazards left unchecked, the council’s inaction represents a severe and ongoing threat to public safety. Immediate intervention and strict oversight are necessary to address these critical issues before a disaster unfolds.”
Western Port’s CFA Group Officer David Breadmore also shared the concerns of all brigades on the peninsula, which he said had been raised with the shire prior to the fire season. “It’s a concern to all of the brigades across the footprint and their whole leadership team as a result of the conditions that we’re experiencing at the moment,” he told The News, adding grassland curing (grasses which had dried out or died) was sitting at 85 to 90 per cent across the peninsula.
“We’ve been extremely lucky in the Western Port area because we’ve got a really well-educated community,” he said. “For the residents of the peninsula area, it’s been a combination of good management in terms of fire prevention but a significant amount of it has been luck as a result of not having windy conditions.” But he added, “I don’t believe that the shire has addressed their responsibility in terms of managing fuel load in public lands, and I think that there have been examples where they have been overprotective of environmental principles on top of practical fire prevention measures.”
According to the letter, the lack of accountability and failure to enforce safety measures “have now placed the entire community at an elevated risk”. To address the various safety concerns, Norris has also implored for the shire to establish an independent review, which would also involve undertaking a critical analysis of fire safety measures and programs, and recommendations for improvement.
Mayor Cr Anthony Marsh said the shire was committed to addressing road safety and fire management. “We do this through effective and informed management strategies, collaboration with key stakeholders and community consultation,” he said. CFA deputy chief officer Trevor Owen said the CFA worked with councils and other agencies on fuel reduction planning across Victoria all year round, noting that the CFA had first became aware of Norris’ letter on 6 March. “CFA is now reviewing the matters raised by Mr Norris who is the captain of Red Hill Fire Brigade and will liaise with the appropriate shire representatives,” he said.
First published in the Mornington News – 11 March 2025
