Unprecedented' bushfires in NSW prompt call for more firefighters

The Berejiklian government has appealed to conservation and other national parks staff to help ease stretched fire-fighting teams in a bid to be "proactive" for "a long fire season”.

The Ruined Castle Fire burning under strong westerly
winds earlier this week near Echo Point in the Blue Mountains.

Atticus Fleming, an executive director at the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, appealed to employees to sign up for a range of roles, including logistics and mapping.

"As you may be aware, the 2019-20 fire season is unprecedented," Mr Flemming said in an email sent on Tuesday and obtained by the Herald. "To date, around 2.1 million hectares have burnt across NSW including more than 800,000 hectares on national park.”

"All agencies responding to the bushfire response in NSW are heavily committed, including [National Parks and Wildlife Service] Parks Operations branches," he said.

Read the story from The Sydney Morning Herald by Peter Hannam and Matt Bungard - “‘Unprecedented' bushfires in NSW prompt call for more firefighters.”

Berejiklian government creates new climate change division in the public service

The Berejiklian government has further staked its commitment to tackling climate change by setting up a new division in the public sector dedicated to developing policy on energy and climate change.

Gladys Berejiklian at a Liberal Party rally at Sydney Olympic Park on April 28.

The division - called the Energy, Climate Change and Sustainability Division - will form part of the mega-agency of Planning, Industry and Environment, led by Minister Rob Stokes.

Read the story from The Sydney Morning Herald by Lisa Visentin - “Berejiklian government creates new climate change division in the public service."

‘Ignored': climate experts appeal to Berejiklian government

An advisory group to the Berejiklian government on climate change has appealed to the Premier for a hearing saying it has been "largely ignored" despite extreme conditions in the state.

The past summer was easily the state's hottest -
with the drought only making things harder for farmers.

The NSW Climate Change Council - a body set up in 2004 by the Labor government to advise the Environment Minister, drawing on independent experts from science to business and regional communities - wrote to Gladys Berejiklian last month after a failure to draw interest from policymakers, according to the letter obtained by the Herald.

Read the story from The Sydney Morning Herald by Peter Hannam - “‘Ignored': climate experts appeal to Berejiklian government.”

‘Filling holes in budget': state accused of diverting climate cash

The Berejiklian government has been accused of diverting money from the state's Climate Change Fund to cover projects unrelated to its original mandate.

Hazard-reduction burning in the Blue Mountains in May
2018: Not what typically comes to mind when one thinks
 of 'climate change action'.CREDIT:

According to its annual report for 2017-18, the fund drew revenue from customer electricity providers and Sydney Water totalling almost $293 million but spent only $181 million. Since 2012-13, the fund has collected about $456 million more than it has spent.

Read the story from The Sydney Morning Herald by Peter Hannam - “‘Filling holes in budget': state accused of diverting climate cash.”