Here is a report by a bushfire expert on the fire risk in Nillumbik, written in 2003:
The Shire of Nillumbik is living on borrowed time. If the current drought ends the threat for now will end. That would then give the Shire time to improve its fire protection to an acceptable level.
A prohibition on fine fuel removal and the requirement for vegetation close to houses is a recipe for increased house destruction.
The major thereat comes from the high fuel levels in the publically owned lands to the north. Some of the neglect comes from a lack of resources but some comes from a determination to not manage dangerous fuel levels.
Less but still serious threats come from Shire reserves and roadsides that increase the danger to residents and emergency services to extreme levels.
Get that people. The government forbade the residents of Nillumbik from removing flammable materials from near their homes. Forbade. They were told that there was a disaster waiting to happen and they said that nobody was allowed to do anything about it.