Disaster mitigation economic opportunities for Australia

10. Maximise prescribed burning to reduce suppression costs

Prescribed burning significantly reduces costs and risks. In the case of the 2021 Dixie Fire in California, nearly $700 million was spent on suppression—resources that could have been more effectively used in advance. Boer et al. (2009) showed that prescribed burning reduces unplanned bushfire extent and frequency in Western Australia.

Funding and benefits of an improved approach incorporating economic opportunities

The economic opportunities and efficiencies of expanding disaster mitigation in Australia are huge. It just takes government will, innovation, vision, protecting communities and firefighters, and looking out for their interests.

Surely good, effective governments, oppositions and fire agencies would capture these economic opportunities and obtain all the long-term benefits of this.

Benefits of an expanded federal, state and local disaster mitigation program to tackle disasters over the next 6–9 years across Australian landscapes include:

• Obtaining higher returns on investment than other projects
• Reduced individual bushfire disasters and associated costs, budget impacts and community/firefighter and ecosystem impacts
• Reduced ongoing repeat disasters and associated costs, reduced budget impacts and community/firefighter and ecosystem impacts
• Reduced community bushfire deaths and safer firefighting
• Assisting regional economies
• Reducing insurance premiums and uninsurance
• Improved preparedness for war and terrorism
• Reduced greenhouse gas impacts of intense bushfires
• Reduction in the consequent wetter year impacts post intense bushfires, as outlined by Fasullo et al (2023)