As far as I can tell, they’ve worked well given their effectiveness in mitigating the risk posed from the fires in the last new year period – no loss of life compared to the 2009 Victorian bushfires. There was significant property damage if I recall correctly, so they’re not perfect; but given risk reduction involves mitigating as much risk as possible and not all variables (e.g. a fire starting) can be eliminated, these initiatives seem to, at least, be a significant improvement!
