The Press TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1952. Fires Without Permits

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26855, 7 October 1952, Page 6

The Press TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1952. Fires Without Permits

When the North Canterbury Catchiment Board was set up eight years ago members realised that their necessarily wide powers must be used with discretion if they were to earn the confidence of farmers, on which much depended. The board has followed this policy consistently, (with, on the whole, encouraging j results. The reluctance of the soil i conservation committee of the board |to recommend • authority for the prosecution of those who light fires without permits can be understood. But the committee was right to make this recommendation and the board was right to adopt it, if only because, as the chairman (Mr H. B. Anderson) said, to overlook defiance of the board by a few would lead to a situation where many would ignore the board. The damage to pastures and other property every year by fires that get out of control emphasises the need for some supervision over burning-off. Even in the most favourable circumstances fire is dangerous. If circumstances are not favourable the lighting of a fire can be folly. Because fire knows no boundaries, burning-off concerns not only the man who starts it, but also his neighbours, and, indeed, from the wider aspect of soil conservation, the whole district. That is why catchment boards have been properly entrusted with the responsibility of deciding if, and when, it is safe to burn off in any particular locality. They have generally set out to achieve their objective by a policy of educating the farmers and enlisting their cooperation. The latest report of the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Council says they can justly claim to have contributed to a better attitude. The report says that there is a growing sense of responsibility in rural districts, more particularly in recognition by farmers of the long-term futility of burning-off steep scrub country in the hope of getting a little benefit. “Such “areas, their fertility depleted by “past fires, need all the fertility possible to support a vigorous “plant covering as an effective pre- “ ventive of erosion ”, the report adds. Education is, however, not the answer to open defiance now reported in North Canterbury, although, it may be hoped, in only a few cases. To deal with this, catchment boards must be prepared to use their authority. The record of the North Canterbury Catchment Board suggests that it will use its powers wisely, and 'that, if a farmer has a genuine complaint about the refusal of a permit to burn, the board would be ready to give his case careful consideration. The time has come when the board should insist that its decisions are respected by all, as they are now respected by most.