Dr Janet Stanley, Chief Research Officer at the Monash Sustainability Institute, answers our questions.
Q: What is your role in the area of bushfire arson prevention?
A: We seek to understand the causes of arson, the characteristics of arsonists and what can be done to prevent arson from occurring in Australia.
Q: How common is arson as a cause of bushfire?
A: There’s between 45-60,000 bushfires annually lit in Australia and, as far as we know, about half of these are deliberately lit. It’s a great deal of fires but only 10 per cent are known to be deliberate, while there’s another 21 per cent that are suspicious. About 20 per cent are accidental - usually from such things as reckless behaviour like someone using equipment on a very hot day or someone testing explosives.
Q: Are arson incidents on the increase or is that quite a steady pattern?
A: There’s no evidence that the proportion of arson is increasing but of course there are other issues that need to be considered.
"Australia’s population is increasing so there’s no reason not to believe that the proportion of people with the propensity to light fires is also increasing".
We’ve also got problems with climate change in which we were warned about extreme events, including fires, in the last IIPC report in 2007 and this is exactly what’s happening. As the temperature rises and the rainfall patterns change, the bush is drying out and so we’re at greater risk of fires occurring.
In the past, if someone lit a fire when the conditions weren’t so bad the chances of accelerating to an extreme bushfire were lower. However, under the changed "new normal" if you like, the risk of becoming a very serious fire is much higher.
Another thing with the population growth is that a lot of people are moving into bush areas and the cities, particularly Melbourne and Sydney, are stretching out into these bush areas, creating much more hazardous conditions for people.
Q: In light of that trend, do you think people moving to rural areas are adequately prepared and understanding of the heightened potential of fires in these areas?
A: There’s no straightforward answer. We’ve got people moving on the fringes of Melbourne and Sydney because that’s all they afford. I believe most of the Sydney fires were not actually started in the country areas but in the interface between urban and bush. Although it’s the most economic place to live, in many cases the infrastructure isn’t being put in to support the homes.
About 40 per cent of fires are actually lit by youths and there’s very high youth-unemployment in these areas. The lack of transport services and employment opportunities means a lot of youth are disengaged with society in these areas and dangling around.
Q: What are the main characteristics of the people who usually light these fires?
A: It varies greatly.
It may be someone who is anti-social. One day they might light a fire, the next day they might steal a car. There are also people with a grievance seeking revenge. Sometimes it’s the need for recognition, such as people with low self-esteem or who are overlooked wanting attention. There are a whole range of reasons. About 90 per cent are male, about 40 per cent are adolescents and 14 per cent children.
"Most people grow out of the fire fascination but there are a group above the age of 40 who continue to light fires".
Q: What is the definition of an arsonist and is there an age at which you can be classified as an arsonist given so many are quite young?
A: In a legal sense, it’s an intention to cause a severe outcome by lighting a fire for destructive purposes.
However, when you’re talking about young people, it may be just an interest in fire. Normally we don’t use it for young people as the reasons for their behaviour are complex and usually don’t have an intention to cause massive destruction. But I do categorise some reckless behaviour as arson, for example, when people ignore legislation about using machinery on a very hot day and continue to do so. There’s a whole range of motivations behind why people light fires and often there is an element of intellectual disability involved and people aren’t necessarily aware of the consequences.
Q: Do you think people have a general understanding of how fast fire moves?
A: No, I don’t so. I think we have to totally review how we approach bushfires in Australia.
"While you might have been able to get away with it in the past, you cannot just assume that a lit fire will just die out – it’s a completely new scene under the climate change scenario and pressures of population moving into these areas".
There’s a whole lot of marketing that needs to be done so people are made aware or reminded of the ramifications of treating fires casually like we have done in the past. There’s also a lot of work we can do in schools. For instance, identifying early the young people who are missing school, being bullied or even lighting small fires in rubbish bins. By doing so, we can provide some sort of intervention and prevention resources to nip this type of behaviour in the bud.
Q: Is the best approach to addressing this huge issue to start with education at a school level?
A: While there are some educational programs run by fire fighters around NSW for youth and children, it still doesn’t offer the more intensive services for kids actually displaying a range of problematic behaviour.
As a society we need to be far more aware of the propensity for these bushfires now and the type of measures which can be taken to prevent them.
"There’s only one treatment centre in Australia for adult arsonists. About one per cent of arsonists are caught and convicted".
The may receive a jail sentence or community order but there’s nothing being done to change their behaviour. It’s only just now that we’re beginning to very slowly implement services to treat offenders.
Q: In attempting to deter arsonists, do you think the wide-spread impact of bushfires is difficult to convey?
A: We haven’t really tried to. We’ve measured the so-called cost of bushfires but left out half the costs. We’ve measured the amount of insurance lost and sending out the brigades.
"What they leave out is the social costs, the psychological costs, the loss of forests and the loss of ecosystems".
We’re having a profound effect on our environment at the moment.
Q: If you were to champion one message about bushfire arson prevention what would it be?
A: As a society we’ve got to sit down and think more strategically and innovatively about how we can prevent these fires from occurring. Once they occur, they are very difficult to put out. I feel we’re still in the last century with men holding hoses and so on.
Q: Do you think this will be a main part of the government’s agenda?
A: It’s unfortunate that the Liberal government is taking away the carbon price and it’s not clear what policies will replace it in reducing carbon emissions. The temperatures are going to continue to rise and unless we address climate change the problems will continue to worsen.
