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I get the impression that Alan Oxley (Opinion, 8/12) would feel more comfortable if all of our natural forests were replaced with blue gum plantations. But he has a good point: in more than 200 years of European settlement, our most effective method of bushfire management has been to simply chop down trees.
However, rather than pushing the agenda of the timber industry under the guise of "superbushfire" prevention or sustainability, it would be more honest and constructive to take a broader view of the issue.