The new chairman of the State Fire Management Council will champion a community-wide approach to reducing bushfire risk across Tasmania.
On behalf of the Liberal Government, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Ian Sauer to a position that will take on increasing importance as we work to implement our comprehensive and strategic fuel reduction program.
Mr Sauer's background as a respected farmer, land manager and volunteer firefighter gives him great insight into the threat that bushfires pose to life and property and of the need to act to prevent loss.
Mr Sauer will work to connect the State Fire Management Council with land managers and the wider community to deliver a Statewide fuel reduction program.
The Liberal Government is investing $28.5 million in this fuel reduction program, as promised before the March election, in recognition of the Tasmanian community's demand that more be done to mitigate the bushfire risk, as identified by the inquiry into the Dunalley wildfire.
Mr Sauer's understanding of the importance of fuel management to reduce bushfire risk will be highly valuable as we implement the program.
He will work closely with public and private land owners and encourage them to engage in the task of fuel reduction on their land, noting that catastrophic fires do not respect property boundaries.
We committed to Tasmanians at the State election to make it easier for landowners to undertake fuel reduction on their property with a 'fuel-reduction first' policy in a landscape-wide approach.
We also undertook to change the culture within government and the wider community to understand the critical importance of strategic fuel-reduction burning, and Mr Sauer will lead the effort to raise awareness and acceptance of our new aggressive approach.
Mr Sauer has 35 years' experience in volunteer organisations and as a cattle and sheep producer in the Piper River area.
He is chairman of Tamar NRM, chairman of the National Gorse Taskforce and a long-term volunteer member of the Tasmanian Fire Service.
Ian Sauer will lead the State Fire Management Council, which comprises representatives from the Tasmanian Fire Service, Forestry Tasmania, the Local Government Association of Tasmania, the Parks and Wildlife Service, the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association and the Forest Industry Association of Tasmania.
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