People living in bushfire-prone areas in NSW will be given more power to clear land around their homes under new rules to be introduced to state parliament.
Under the proposed changes, people in designated bushfire-prone areas will not need to get permission to clear trees, shrubs and other vegetation within prescribed distances of homes on their land.
"Our changes will ensure the rules regarding hazard reduction are based on protecting lives and property, and not satisfying a narrow Green agenda that seeks to put trees before people," Premier Barry O'Farrell said on Wednesday.
The government will also introduce laws this week to give the Rural Fire Service (RFS) the power to carry out hazard reduction without the consent of landowners when attempts to contact them have failed.
Anyone caught impersonating an emergency worker will also face tougher penalties, as will those nabbed littering with cigarettes and matches on days where a total fire ban is in place.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill, who saw fires destroy more than 200 homes in the region last month, says anything that helps protect residents from fires is welcome.
But he says his immediate concern is that the clean-up is taking too long.
"We are one month out from the fires and the NSW government has not announced a package to allow residents who have lost their home to clear and rebuild," he told ABC Radio.
"In Tasmania, within eight days of their fires ... the government sent in the contractors and started clearing those blocks.
"One poor woman rings me up and she tells me she drives past the ruins every day as she goes to work ... every time she drives past her homes it is another kick in the guts."
The Insurance Council of Australia says policyholders have lodged 1632 claims for the NSW bushfires, with estimated insurance losses totalling $183.1 million.
Insurers have settled 27 per cent of total loss residential claims, with $50 million paid in services and settlements.
The companies were spending more than $3.3 million each working day on temporary accommodation, payments, vehicles, contents replacement and services, the council said.
