2026-10-06T12:13:40Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34028364 2026-09-30T01:42:19Z category_24028 category_24985 category_26362 category_26467 category_27634 category_27661 category_26875 category_26872 category_26878 category_25318 category_23875 category_23884 category_23860 category_25027 category_25054 category_25036 category_27673 category_29938 category_25030 category_27637 portal_8 item_type_1 month_year_09_2026

Middle Hut Road roadside photographs 28 January 2026 SARAH HUNTER (1155221) Forestry fire management Fire safety design Fire safety engineering Electrical energy storage Public administration Australian government and politics Human impacts of climate change and human adaptation Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation Climate change impacts and adaptation not elsewhere classified Environment and climate finance Farm management, rural management and agribusiness Agriculture, land and farm management not elsewhere classified Agricultural land planning Land use and environmental planning Urban planning and health Regulatory planning and development assessment Environmental politics Applied ethics not elsewhere classified Public participation and community engagement Public policy Middle Hut BESS Middle Hut Road Doreen Fire risk Nillumbik council Phalaris peri-urban regions peri-urban interface Green Wedge CFA rural fire services Municipal governance Ministerial Approval Ministerial permits register Development Facilitation Program DFP <p dir="ltr">These photographs show the roadside vegetation in Middle Hut Road Doreen on 28 January 2026. </p><p dir="ltr">The images show rank (dry, ready to burn), Phalaris grass up to two metres high. </p><p dir="ltr">This roadside is designated a strategic fire management road<a href="#_ftn1" target="_blank">[1]</a> by Nillumbik council. </p><p dir="ltr">At this point more than two months after the commencement of the Fire Danger period<a href="#_ftn1" target="_blank">[2]</a> there had been a series of major fire incidents throughout Victoria. During the fire season which occurred mostly prior to this point, a person had been killed, 440,000 hectares burned across the state including 130,000 hectares in the Longwood complex likely ignited in roadside vegetation, 451 homes and 1,110 outbuildings had been lost, and 45,000 livestock deaths recorded<a href="#_ftn2" target="_blank">[3]</a>.</p><p dir="ltr">In response to a complaint I made to Nillumbik council in regard to the fire hazard of the council maintained roadsides in Middle Hut Road, the Mayor of Nillumbik Naomi Joiner highlighted the difficulty for the council of managing Middle Hut Road vegetation fire safety due to "significant environmental value" and need for special management given the presence of indigenous grasses<a href="#_ftn3" target="_blank">[4]</a>. </p><p dir="ltr">Middle Hut Road Doreen is now proposed as the location for a Battery Energy Storage Facility. See https://middlehutbess.com.au/ . The application for this facility will be made direct to the minister for planning with no appeal rights or recourse for impacted communities.</p><p dir="ltr"><br></p><p dir="ltr"><a href="#_ftnref1" target="_blank">[1]</a> Designated fire management road HUNTER, SARAH (2026). Letter from Nillumbik Council describing Middle Hut Road Doreen as a Strategic Bushfire Area. The University of Melbourne. Online resource. <a href="https://doi.org/10.26188/33312183" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.26188/33312183</a></p><p dir="ltr"><br></p><p dir="ltr"><a href="#_ftnref1" target="_blank">[2]</a> The Nillumbik Fire Danger period commenced 24 November 2025</p><p dir="ltr"><a href="#_ftnref2" target="_blank">[3]</a> including over 130,000 hectares in the Longwood fire that likely ignited from roadside vegetation, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-28/fire-inquiry-delivers-report-into-2026-bushfires-victoria/106962054" target="_blank">https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-28/fire-inquiry-delivers-report-into-2026-bushfires-victoria/106962054</a></p><p dir="ltr"><a href="#_ftnref3" target="_blank">[4]</a> HUNTER, SARAH (2026). Email entitled Middle Hut road - council 'priority fire management ' area extremely hazardous. The University of Melbourne. Online resource. <a href="https://doi.org/10.26188/33612880.v1" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.26188/33612880.v1</a></p><p dir="ltr"><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr"><br></p> 2026-09-30T01:42:19Z Image Figure 10.26188/34028364.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/figure/Middle_Hut_Road_roadside_photographs_28_January_2026/34028364 CC BY 4.0