Bushfire lawsuit: farmers say National Parks hasn't apologised for Bees Nest blaze
BLAZE: NSW Rural Fire Service volunteers battled strong winds and huge flames at the Bees Nest fire. Photo: Molly Saunders
A group of farmers threatening to sue National Parks say the service hasn't even called to apologise for a fire that started in Guy Fawkes National Park last year.
Michael Hickey, whose property Gold View was smashed in last year's Bees Nest bushfire, blames the service for failing to burnoff to clear flammable undergrowth, for the enormous blaze.
HARD WORK: Armidale Dumaresq RFS volunteers put in more than 400 hours of work in just three days at the Bees Nest fire. Photo: Armidale RFS
But despite the legal threat designed to force the service to the negotiating table, there's so far been no consultation.
"They haven't even rang up to say sorry we burnt you out," he said.
BUSHFIRE: Heavy smoke blew through the bush as firefighters battled to try to control the Bees Nest fire. Photo: Molly Saunders
The farmers say the fire cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost stock and wrecked fencing.
But it's not the first time National Parks has been a bad neighbour, said Michael Hickey.
This season we’ve seen significant fires since July. On 10 August the first bush fire emergency was declared in the Glen Innes area, with the Bees Nest fire. 200 days later, Incident Management Teams and firefighters continue to deal with this heightened level of activity #nswrfspic.twitter.com/vF9vXwMSix
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) February 26, 2020
"I think that they haven't been doing much of a job (of management) because they've burnt our fences on several occasions."
Suing his own government was a big step, but he said he was left with no choice with the Bees Nest blaze the final straw.
"This time they didn't just burn our fences they burnt everything else.
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"I know they wouldn't be happy if I'd have done that to them."
Mr Hickey said he wants Guy Fawkes National Park fenced into blocks for local landholders to manage, with a herd of 800-1000 head which he said would prevent a future mega-blaze.
Liberal Party Environment Minister Matt Kean has already rejected the idea as "ridiculous" and conservation groups have called it unscientific bunkum and ecological vandalism.