- Target:
- Premier John Brumby and the Victorian Government
- Region:
- Australia
Information directly from my local MP, who will be tabling the petition indicates that the Legislative Assembly does NOT accept e-petitions.
Photocopied signatures are not accepted and have to be hand-written to a specific template.
I am sorry that this didn't work, as I was really pleased with the responses. Over three days there were 33 signatures, and I will have to get in touch with them to advise of alternate arrangements.
Thank you for your assistance,
Eve
Following the Royal Commission into the bushfires it was decided to list 51 townships as considered in danger of future bushfire catastrophes, yet the Upper Yarra Valley has been omitted, although the list that decided the inclusion of those townships apply even more so to the Upper Yarra than most.
The Upper Yarra residents are up in arms about this omission and the lack of interest shown by the Brumby Government is endangering the townships and their residents.
PETITION TO THE PREMIER JOHN BRUMBY AND THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT
We, the undersigned petitioners, acknowledge the massive investment of time, leadership and resources of the Premier, his task force and the Royal Commission progress to date.
The petition comes to further support responses and needs of the community of this area, and comes in the context of Black Saturday and previous events i.e. Ash Wednesday and the recent interventions by the CFA,DSE,MPs such as Tammy Lobato and Fran Bailey, and the Victorian Government Treasurer.
We petition you to:
1. add the Upper Yarra Valley (ranging from Reefton through East Warburton, Warburton, Millgrove and Wesburn) to the list of 51 townships nominated as "High Risk" fire areas in Victoria.
2 review and implement an easier EXIT STRATEGY and TRAFFIC FLOW between Scotchman's Creek Road and Millgrove during emergencies, especially in view of the amended policy of "Relocate."
a) widen the Warburton Highway along the north-facing verge, where nature-strips permit, to facilitate overtaking in case of unforeseen circumstances.
b) widen the Warburton Walking Track to the width of one car as an alternative exit route in case of emergency.
c) ease traffic load on Warburton Highway by building a bridge from the end of Dammans Road to Millgrove to bypass possible bottlenecks.
3. provide safe and suitable refuges in Warburton and East Warburton.
4. implement a Township Warning System and Protection Plan
5. provide appropriate radio reception of ABC 774 to Warburton and East Warburton, which are in a blind spot and leave residents without adequate information and communications systems.
Finally, we petition you to:
6. increase the area of annual fuel-reduction burning by at least three times as recommended by The Environment and Natural Resources Committee's (ENRC) Inquiry on the Impact of Public Land Management Practices on Bushfires Victoria.
7. ensure that fuel reduction burning is increased throughout Victoria's public lands, as well as in those areas defined for 'asset protection'.
We understand that the population statistics and ease of implementation governed the choice of the townships on the list of 52. However, seeing that we are in a very similar situation of vulnerability to the Dandenong Ranges, if not more so, and due to the topography and dangerous and difficult exit road, we feel like sitting ducks in danger of being trapped.
We urge the Government to start implementing these points immediately, to prevent a possible TRAGEDY similar to the one on Black Saturday "EVER HAPPENING AGAIN".
The Support Bushfire Safety for the Yarra Valley petition to Premier John Brumby and the Victorian Government was written by Eve Marso and is in the category Civil Rights at GoPetition.