Module: Business Law
I would like to know the Media Report Analysiswith Hundreds fined for not clearingfirebreaks article of The West Australian Tue Feb 132018.
Question: Identify the areas of law that are relevant tothe chosen media report, and explain how they are relevant to thematters outlined in the report.
Tip: Use Property law, contract law,corporation law, criminal law, consumer law, administrative law ortort law
At least 4 of these laws can be identified in this article
Hundreds fined for not clearingfirebreaks:
More than 3500 fines and warnings have been handed out to WestAustralians for failing to clear firebreaks, prompting firefightersto warn they are risking lives and homes.
Landowners in Perth and regional WA, some in bushfire-proneareas, were hit with more than 840 fines and 2700 work orders overthe summer season according to councils surveyed by The WestAustralian.
United Firefighters Union State secretary Lea Anderson said thenumbers were alarming and suggested people were complacent aboutthe risks.
"The figures do cause some alarm to the members of my union andthey should cause alarm to the (State) Government and the broadercommunity," she said.
"Too often members of our community become complacent and thatcomplacency costs resources and it can cost lives."
Ms Anderson also criticised councils for not better enforcinglandowners' responsibilities.
"I'm concerned, based on those stats, that they (councils) arenot taking their responsibilities seriously enough and if theenforcement powers that they have aren't being used, they aren'teffective," she said.
WA Local Government Association president Lynne Craigie saidlocal government had a strict compliance regime for landowners tocomply with for fire mitigation works.
"In most cases local government provide landholders a number ofnotifications before penalties are applied," she said.
"We would challenge the ongoing risk to the community fromnon-compliance as in most cases part of the penalty to thelandholder is for the local government to organise a contractor tocomplete the works."
Emergency Services Minister Fran Logan said property owners musttreat bushfires as an "ever-present danger".
"I would also remind those homeowners that in most of thelocations it is volunteers, your friends, neighbours and evenfamily who will come to fight the fire, and without firebreaks youare putting them and the rest of the community in even moredanger," he said.
WA has had 1218 bushfires this summer so far, compared with 1313in the same period last year.
The West Australian surveyed 18 metropolitan andregional councils for a snapshot of the number of fines and workorders issued this summer.
Those councils, as far south as the Shire of Bridgetown and asfar north as the Shire of Gingin, collectively handed out 845 finesand 2723 work orders or warnings since roughly the start ofsummer.
Landowners face fines of $250 if they fail to preparefirebreaks, which can provide critical access for firefightersbattling bushfires.
