Program & Speakers

Forestry Australia’s Forest Fire Management Committee have developed a topical and broad program to explore prescribed burning including cultural, practical and research perspectives. We look forward to this important and timely discussion, and welcoming your attendance.

Wednesday 26 June

7:30 Registration, arrival tea & coffee
8:30 Welcome to Country
8:50 #1: Opening & Dr Kevin Tolhurst AM Memorial Lecture

Prescribed fire: The facts
Dr Neil Burrows AFSM, FireNinti Consulting

9:30 #2: Cultural fire practices and Aboriginal forest management

Aboriginal land management in forestry
Rachael Cavanagh, Balun Budjabin Consulting

Open forest – a cultural landscape – man made
Darren Burns, Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation
David Kington, Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation and Vegetation Management Science

10:45 Morning tea
11:15 #3: Assessing the effectiveness of prescribed fire in reducing the spread and severity of unplanned fires

Contemporary challenges in fire management in South Western Australia
Ed Hatherley, Parks and Wildlife Service Western Australia

Managing savanna fire regimes
Prof Jeremy Russell-Smith, Charles Darwin University

Reducing bushfire risk using prescribed burning across all land tenures
Courtney Bertram, Office of Bushfire Risk Management, VIC

An outline of prescribed fire in Southern Pine plantations in Queensland
Tom Clapson, HQPlantations

12:45 Lunch
13:30 #4: Achieving land management goals using prescribed fire

Prescribed burning NBFT as a risk reduction approach and as an aid to suppression
Chris Hardman, Forest Fire Management Victoria

Re-introducing broadscale fire following several decades of fire exclusion
Dr Lachlan McCaw, Consultant

Planned burning to achieve risk reduction and biodiversity objectives
Dr Jane Cawson, The University of Melbourne

15:00 Afternoon tea
15:30 #5: Panel: Prescribed fire research – encouraging effective practice, what are critical gaps and how can these be filled?

Dr Rowena Morris, Natural Hazards Research Australia
Prof Trent Penman, The University of Melbourne
Sandra Whight, Australasian Fire Authorities Council
Dr Thomas Duff, Country Fire Authority

17:15 Wrap up
17:30 Close
18:30 Casual networking dinner

Thursday 27 June

8:00 Registration, arrival tea & coffee
9:00 #6: Fire communication

Actions required to improve forest fire management (“We need to do more of these things…”)
Euan Ferguson, Consultant

Communicating complex fire science
David Bruce, Natural Hazards Research Australia

How have we got it so wrong? The public perception of forests and the role of media
Tim Lee, Landline, ABC

10:15 Morning tea
10:45 #7: Why do we need prescribed fire in our environment?

Enhancing forest resilience and protecting fire sensitive forests and water catchments with prescribed fire
Dr Tony Bartlett, Bartlett Forestry Consulting

Practical bushfire management on private land: Red Hot Tips
Dr Pep Turner, Tasmania Fire Service

Saving our water supply through prescribed burning
Shaun Lawlor, Dept of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (VIC)

FESA in the Wombat Forest: Opportunities and challenges presented by long-term prescribed fire experiments
A/Prof Lauren Bennett, The University of Melbourne

12:30 Lunch
13:15 #8: Fire management, health & risk

What can fire fighters learn from smoke research for health management?
Dr Fabienne Reisen, CSIRO

Identifying and managing dangerous trees when prescribed burning
Paul de Mar, GHD

14:30 Afternoon tea
15:00 #9: Prescribed fire: considerations on the way forward

KPIs helping us to meet the National Fire Policy Statement goals
Peter Leeson, Consultant

Creating effective partnerships and engagement with stakeholders
Rebel Talbert, Forestry Corporation of NSW

Developing an effective prescribed burning workforce
Trevor Howard, Australasian Fire Authorities Council

16:30 #10: Wrap up, resolutions & close
17:00 Close