Burn-off policy causes angst

So council is to ban burn-offs in rural areas in the face of 40,000 years of good land management to reduce the impact of climate change.

Hmm! So now two petrol/diesel powered vehicles have to come to my place (20km round trip) to tell me if I can burn-off everything I haven’t been able to recycle up my chimney.

If I can’t, I can buy a petrol-powered chipper (noisy, polluting and made from precious resources using coal fired power) or I can hire one from council (20km round trip, noisy and polluting).

And did I mention the council, which wants me to hire the chipper, is also my judge and jury on whether I can burn off?

I don’t cut down trees and neither do most other landowners – they fall down usually on fences because of existing no clearing directives or on productive pastures that feed the animals that some of the dills who make these decisions like to eat!

Maybe it is a vegan conspiracy!

Letters on this page are the opinions of the writers. Publication does not in any way imply endorsement by the Kiama Independent of the views expressed. Surely council officers have better things to do with their time?

Why can’t bushfire brigade officers be deputised to make these decisions?

After all, it is they and not some office-bound bureaucrat who has to fight the fires if they get out of control!

– Neil Bell
Jamberoo