THE latest chapter in the state government's response to the devastating 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires was written last week, with the release of the draft State Bushfire Management Plan 2021-2025.
Any particularly bad bushfire seasons are usually followed by a raft of responses aimed at improving conditions in both the short- and long-term.
Some of these long-term responses will naturally capture more attention than others - the delivery of state-of-the-art water bombers or new fire trucks is far more likely to dominate the headlines than regulatory change or organisational reshuffles.
But that doesn't mean these are any less important, or any less likely to have a huge impact on the severity of bushfires.
That's because even the best gear won't help if the right systems aren't already in place to coordinate the response, or if the ball has been dropped in the areas of fire preparedness, public education and hazard reduction.
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At 128 pages, complete with dozens of 'actions', the plan could hardly be considered light reading.
But this plan is important. It must be done now, and it must be done well so it is in place, broadly understood and doing its job well before our next damaging bushfire arrives. The actions listed in the document must translate into just that - action on the ground.
Bushfires have the potential to affect every rural South Australian at some point.
In a way, that means everyone has skin in the game when it comes to this bushfire management plan.
In the aftermath of a fire, many people express their views on what could or should have been done differently. Some will have opinions on hazard reduction programs, while others might look closely at the tactics employed by Country Fire Service volunteers and farm fire units. Most of the time, these voices go unheard, and have little influence over future strategies.
But now those people have a rare chance to voice their opinion, and have it heard by the government and those making critical decisions.
Let's hope plenty of rural South Australians, who have far more experience battling blazes in their communities than they'd like, take the opportunity to speak up and shape our future bushfire preparation and response plans.
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