Fuel load management in National Parks and reforms to land management legislation must form part of the dialogue on the causes of the east coast mega fires, according to NSW Farmers.
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President James Jackson said while Environment Minister Matt Kean has put the focus on climate change, farmers and community members are asking questions about a state-wide hazard reduction strategy.
"Farmers are observing and dealing with the realities of climate change first hand, but this is not the only factor that has allowed these uncontrolled mega fires to engulf over 2 million hectares of NSW," Mr Jackson said.
"A meaningful conversation on what has led to these mega-fires must also recognize the impact of NSW's vegetation laws in permitting fuel loads to build to such dangerous levels on public and private land."
Mr Jackson said NSW Farmers is calling for further reforms to the restrictive effect of certain land management laws in NSW - particularly regulations limiting farmers' ability to control invasive native species and to clear proper fire breaks on their own properties.
"These rules have helped created the fuel conditions that have fed these wild fires," Mr Jackson said.
The NSW Farmers President said that national parks had expanded without proper cool burning or grazing regimes to manage fuel loads; and that public land management agencies such as the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) were under-resourced. These factors, he believed, must also be taken into account.
Mr Jackson was also concerned by suggestions that the number of fire-trained rangers had reduced over recent years.
"With the windows to get controlled burns done narrowing, we need public land managers to be properly resourced to get the job done when conditions allow."
NSW Farmers called on the NSW Government to urgently expand access to managed grazing in national parks across the state, where it is safe to do so, to help reduce fuel loads.
"We urge the NPWS leadership to sit down with farmers and negotiate this access, and start identifying areas where grazing can be of benefit," Mr Jackson said.
These fires now cover an area twice the size of Sydney, and many of the state's 35,000 primary producers have lost thousands of kilometres of fencing, plant and infrastructure, livestock, and essential vegetation cover.
"The 741 families in NSW who don't have homes this Christmas deserve a meaningful discussion on all the reasons why we have seen mega fires before summer even started.
"The NSW Government has committed to a Review, and as, tragically, these fires have taken lives, there will be a Coronial process. These investigations must deeply explore the factors which have created conditions that have fuelled these unprecedented fires."
"We will ensure the practical perspectives from our state's farmers are taken on board in future recommendations as to how land should be managed in NSW."
