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A key oversight in the newly exhibited Hawkesbury Bush Fire Risk Management Plan has sparked concern among residents and rural landholders across the district, particularly in high-risk areas like Bilpin, Colo and St Albans Districts.
Despite being a legislative requirement under the Rural Fires Act 1997, the plan appears to have excluded consultation with land managers — including private property owners, farmers, and custodians of land bordering national parks. Instead, according to documentation released for public exhibition, Hawkesbury Fire Control consulted only senior RFS volunteers and Brigade Captains and other RFS volunteers when drafting the plan.
This omission has drawn criticism from some community leaders and bushfire stakeholders who argue that effective bushfire planning cannot succeed without the input of those who live on and manage the land.
“Land managers are the people who know their properties best — they understand fire trails, fuel loads, local conditions, and fire history. Their knowledge is critical, especially in a region as diverse and complex as the Hawkesbury,” said a spokesperson for the Bells Line of Road Business Council Inc.
Many landholders in the region straddle the urban-rural interface, often managing land next to national parks or fire-prone bushland. Without including these voices, critics say the Bushfire Risk Management Plan risks being out of touch with ground-level realities, potentially undermining preparedness and mitigation efforts.
This isn't just a policy issue — it’s a safety issue. As the saying goes in these mountains: “Neighbours always are, and always will be, our first responders.”
“Local fire resilience depends on community-led knowledge sharing, collaborative planning, and practical, on-the-ground experience. Top-down planning without grassroots input, especially in an area like the Hawkesbury, may lead to gaps in risk assessment, resourcing, and fire trail accessibility," says a spokesperson from the Hawkesbury Blue Mountains Community Bushfire Alliance.
The public exhibition of the draft plan ended on June 9, but calls are growing louder for a second round of consultation — this time with the very people whose properties and livelihoods are most at stake.
