SYDNEY, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Australia's New South Wales (NSW) state on Thursday announced plans to impose harsher penalties on bushfire arsonists, with offenders behind the major environmental threat facing up to two decades' imprisonment.
"Deliberately starting a bushfire is a selfish and senseless act that can have catastrophic consequences, potentially wiping out land and homes, and causing injury or death to residents and livestock," the state's Premier Gladys Berejiklian said in a statement.
The government will seek to raise the maximum jail sentence for bushfire offenses from 14 years to 21 years. The tougher penalty is set to be introduced into parliament this month and will apply to the specific bushfire offense of "intentionally causing a fire and being reckless about it spreading on public land or someone else's property."
Bushfires pose a major threat to large swathes of Australian states during dry seasons. In August, NSW authorities declared its earliest total fire bans on record as fire crews battled more than 80 blazes across the state hit by strong winds.
The state's attorney general will also ask its sentencing council to consider if the five-year standard non-parole period for the bushfire offense should be increased and review the maximum penalties for a range of arson offences, including destroying or damaging properties by means of fire.
"The reforms will provide a strong deterrent to would-be arsonists while more than 99 percent of the state is gripped by drought. With low rainfall predicted in coming months and large swathes of bushland looking like a tinderbox, we must do all we can to protect the state from another disaster," said the state's Minister for Police and Emergency Services Troy Grant.
