Bushfires Council and committees

The Bushfires Council is a statutory body that has a legislated responsibility under the Bushfires Management Act 2016.

They advise the Minister for Environment (the minister) on bushfire prevention and control in the Northern Territory (NT).

Members

Members of the Bushfires Council are appointed by the minister for a 3-year term of office, and represent a range of land management interests from across the NT.

The members are:

Karen May - Territory Natural Resource Management, Chair
Edward Hayes - Chair of the Alice Springs Regional Bushfires Committee, Deputy Chair
Shenagh Gamble - Bureau of Meteorology
Mark Spain - Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services
Sharon Hillen - Northern Land Council
Benjamin Kaethner - Central Land Council
Will Evans - Northern Territory Cattleman's Association
Ian Stewart - Chair of the Vernon Arafura Regional Bushfires Committee
Paul Burke - Northern Territory Farmers Association
Sally Egan - Parks and Wildlife Commission
Anna Pickworth - Chair of the Arnhem Regional Bushfires Committee
Karen Hayward - Chair of the Barkly Regional Bushfires Committee
James Lewis - Chair of the Savanna Regional Bushfires Committee.

Regional bushfires committees

Regional bushfires committees are statutory bodies established under Section 32(1) of the Bushfires Management Act 2016.

There are 5 committees. One is established for each of the 5 fire management zones in the Territory.

The functions of a committee, as detailed in the Act, are to:

advise the Bushfires Council on measures to be taken to mitigate, manage and suppress bushfires in the committee’s fire management zone, and
endorse a regional bushfire management plan, prepared by Bushfires NT, for the committee’s fire management zone.

Bushfires NT is a division of the Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security; the department is responsible for administration of the Bushfires Management Act and the Minister appoints members of the Bushfires Council and regional bushfires committees.

Members are appointed for a term of up to 3 years, and can be reappointed for further terms if the Minister so wishes. The Minister appoints one member to chair the council or a committee.

The committee’s involvement in development and endorsement of a regional bushfire management plan gives committee members a substantial say in regional bushfire management. The regional plan is developed by Bushfires NT, but must be endorsed by the committee.

It is important that each committee represents a broad cross section of regional land use interests, and members are selected for their knowledge and experience in land and fire management, as well as their ability to represent the interests of land use sectors. A regional committee is most successful when members freely share information and adopt a collegial approach to their tasks.

Meetings

While there is no prescribed schedule of committee or council meetings, it is usual for committees to meet twice each year prior to council meetings, with extra meetings at the committee chair’s discretion. Extra meetings may be required during development of regional plans.