Press Release

Kimberley pastoralists have strongly supported prescribed burning programs as a vital fire control measure in their region.

Chairman of the  Pastoralists and Graziers’ Association Kimberley Committee, Jim Motter said  tourist and other Kimberley interests had the choice of  prescribed burns on pastoral and crown lands to reduce dry fuel  levels – or a return to the wildfires of several years ago that devastated large areas of the region.

“Pastoralists have cooperated closely with FESA over the last few years to prevent major fires ravaging hundreds of square kilometres of the region and we have been relatively successful.”

“Complaints about prescribed burns to local shires and to FESA have come from uninformed quarters and pastoralists and other land stakeholders will be cooperating with FESA to explain how prescribed burns have become an integral and successful fire control strategy in the region,” Mr Motter said.

“The Kimberley situation is similar to those in Victoria, Canberra and South Australia where opposition to controlled burns allowed the massive build-up of fuel and the catastrophes of the past few years.”