LEGISLATION has been passed through Western Australian Parliament to change the regulations of total fire bans, a year after it was first implemented.
The Fire and Emergency Service Authority (FESA) implemented total fire bans in 2009, which prohibited harvesting and the movement of vehicles in paddocks during a total fire ban.
Last year was the first time WA had total fire bans in place.
The change now means farmers can harvest when there is a total fire ban in place - providing a harvest and vehicle movement ban has not been implemented by their local government and farmers have a firefighting vehicle on site - with a minimum of 400 litres of water.
Many farmers raised concerns last year when FESA changed the legislation because it unnecessarily interrupted their harvest.
One of those farmers was Trevor Badger, Pingrup, who was outraged when FESA imposed the new total fire ban last year.
He said the old system was sufficient and the change in legislation was unnecessary because a total fire ban already existed throughout the State from October until March every year.
"It was ridiculous because most shires throughout WA already have a total summer fire ban, or a prohibited burning period," Mr Badger said.
"How can you have a total fire ban in a place that already has a total fire ban?
"Bureaucratic stupidity has caused a lot of people to do a lot of work to go back to the old system.
"I'm very pleased they've adopted the old system - which should have never been changed."
Mr Badger, who runs a mixed-farming operation on his 6478-hectare property, said after the total fire ban was imposed there were quite a few questionable harvest bans.
On one particular ban imposed in early December last year, it was raining.
"They made a decision five days before the actual ban, and the only person who could lift it was the Minister - and he was away," he said.
Mr Badger said FESA should never have adopted the recommendations from the Royal Commission into the Victorian bushfires, because those fires were in metropolitan areas, not rural areas.
He said FESA had no regional knowledge about fighting fires in the bush and said local firefighters were more adept at controlling bushfires in rural areas.
"They are far more knowledgeable and have far better control over the community as well," Mr Badger said.
"When a local officer says something, everybody obeys.
"When an FESA officer comes in now, everybody walks away."
FESA chief executive officer, Jo Harrison-Ward, said the bans were implemented based on forecast weather for regions, which caused problems as conditions varied.
Ms Harrison-Ward said after extensive consultation with local governments in affected areas, FESA had proposed a number of recommended changes to the legislation, which have now been made law.
"Local governments, which are able to monitor local conditions, will implement harvest and vehicle movement bans in their area once the Grassland Fire Danger Index (GFDI) reaches 35 in their area," she said.
"Some local governments may also choose to implement the ban at an earlier stage.
"This option places the responsibility back with the local government and still enables FESA to place a total fire ban where necessary to restrict other unnecessary activities that could cause fires."
WAFarmers Climate Change and Land Management spokesperson, Dale Park, said last year highlighted the need for these changes when, on occasion, total fire bans were implemented on expected, rather than actual, conditions.
"Total fire bans were based on forecasted conditions so, as a result, farmers in some areas were prevented from harvesting on days when conditions varied from those forecasted," Mr Park said.
"Local governments will now have greater flexibility to respond to changes in local conditions and have the ability to implement harvest and vehicle movement bans in their area when appropriate.
"These changes will also allow for greater local input into the setting of harvest and vehicle movement bans, which will hopefully provide a more positive outcome for farmers this harvest."
