Raymond Island
community consultation: managing the risk of bushfire
Managing
the risk of bushfires on Raymond Island and its plants and animals is a complex
issue that generates a range of sentiments and opinions.
The
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) and Parks Victoria
have already heard from Raymond Island residents regarding their concerns about
the management of bushfire risk on the island.
DELWP
and Parks Victoria will be conducting further community consultation to explore
these issues, working together to develop an appropriate fuel management
program to address bushfire risk and environmental health on the island.
DELWP
District Manager, Brad Fisher said: “We want to discuss the options for the
island, its residents, its vegetation and wildlife and find solutions that are
supported by DELWP and the majority of the community.”
“The
first step in the process is to seek expressions of interest from those residents
who would like to be part of a working group. This group will work with a small
number of agency staff to determine and oversee each step of the consultation
process and ensure an effective and reasonable process has taken place.”
This
group will ensure a thorough consultation process is used. This will not be a
forum for discussing the issues or guiding the outcome of the consultation.
If
you are a resident of Raymond Island and are interested in being a part of this
working group, please submit a brief expression of interest to Warwick Hall.
Mr
Hall will, with other community members and DELWP and Parks Victoria staff
consider the applications for the working group. Please include the area of
interest and expertise that you bring which will add value to the process,
which aims to be collaborative in nature and inclusive of the broader
community.
Expressions
of interest for this group will close Friday 21 August to allow residents who
are currently away during the winter period to be included in the process. The broader community consultations will take
place from September to November.
DELWP
will communicate through the Raymond Island Weekly News, the Raymond Island
Community Network website, the Landcare notice board and the ferry hub.
DELWP
is grateful to the group of community members who joined them to begin scoping
this consultation process, and thank them for their time and effort. The notes
of that meeting are also available at the above-mentioned posts.
DELWP
is looking forward to working with the community on this complex issue.
To submit your expression of interest to Warwick
Hall, or find out more about the working group's objectives, please email wmh1501@gmail.com
Media release:
Rachel Dawkins
Rachel Dawkins
Dept. Environment, Land, Water, and Planning
Monday 6 July
