From News.com:

A 51-year-old man will face court today after allegedly lighting a fire on the NSW Northern Tablelands and recklessly allowing its spread earlier this week.

Authorities were called to a fire in Ebor, 80 kilometres north-east of Armidale at around 10.30pm on Thursday.

Shortly after 2pm yesterday police arrested a 51-year-old Ebor man.

He was taken to Armidale Police Station and charged with intentionally cause fire and be reckless to its spread.

He was refused bail and is due to appear in Armidale Local Court this morning, where police will allege he lit the fire to back burn in order to protect a cannabis crop.

There are dopes, and then there are ultra dopes.

Naturally we have different laws in respect of fire here in Vic. Lighting a fire on a day of "total fire ban" is a Law on its own. basically that's two out of business.

However, Dope is not confined to crops unfortunately we breed them. Is it not logical that in an area swarming with aircraft, smoke will be seen plus a green oasis in a sea of black is going to be spotted by the spy camera's and the planes? A looser on all fronts, no way was this effort or crop going to be unnoticed.

Catching them in the act, before the fire does a runner is fantastic. Hopefully the Judges do not go wussie? The indigenous penalty was spearing. That's got merit.

Being Ebor, his 'grass' wouldn't be the only batch. There'd be quite a few crops of it out there right through the Barrington Ranges because the people out there thing that Mary-Joanna can grow fast under the shade of eucalypts without being sprung for it. There's always one idiot who wants to take things too far, however, and as we've seen, this theory has been well put into practice. Hopefully, local police will have some time to send Polair up with their plant spotting cameras to find this bloke's competition and take some much un-needed drugs out of circulation and prevent the need to backburn to protect it.

What are they thinking? Backburn to protect their crops and then if a bushfire does rage through have the cannabis the only wildlife left? Surely then it'd get spotted with the naked eye followed by coppers rolling in like oranges to collar the owners. It's a case of dopes doing dopey things with dope. Charges would and should include cultivation, possession and use and plenty of proof of each offence on offer.

This arsonist/firefighter situation occurs too often:

"An RFS volunteer has been charged after he allegedly lit seven fires on the NSW South Coast, including one on Tuesday, which he returned to fight as part of his duties as a volunteer firefighter.

Blake William Banner, 19, was arrested on Tuesday evening in connection with seven fires in the Bega Valley area between October 17 and November 26. All are believed to have been deliberately lit."

I believe the regular fire services vet applicants psychologically to try to wed out arsonists, but I guess the RFS in time of need accepts virtually anyone of age who volunteers.

I think the psych testing came in after 1994 - most of the Sydney fires then were deliberately lit and several by bored firefighters who wanted the shout to go and put them out. I use the term 'bored' loosely - obviously there are issues upstairs with this type.

Posted & it failed to connect?

It is an established fact that many nutters with pyromania, that manifests in what I would call a "Hero complex": Join fire brigades.

A most interesting one occurred when a series of fire bug incidents started to occur around "The Rock" (Southern NSW). Now someone in the clever dept. realised that similar incidents around Canberra, suddenly stopped? So the question was "Who from RFS, or similar moved into the Albury area close to The Rock"?

A name came up... They got him.

My first wife was a bushfire fighter. It used to make her horny lol.

Too much information Carl!

What are you implying?

Actually not implying anything but it sort of makes me understand how these people think. I the person was very proactive but sort of went over board.

New penalties that have been invoked as of the 17th January, 2020 for throwing cigarette butts out of car windows should hit home hard. Anyone in the vehicle will lose five points off their licence if caught and if it happens during a total fire ban the punishment rises to ten points and a court imposed fine of up to $11,000.00.

Given the state of play with Sydney virtually surrounded by bushfire as was the case at the start of the 1994 crisis, the fine should be fixed at $11,000.00 with the option of gaol time and escalated charges if a fire started by this careless action leads to property damage, injury or death.

Anyone in the vehicle will lose five points off their licence if caught

Great, but 'anyone' in the vehicle? Surely this would apply to the driver who either did it or allowed it to be done?

PS: it's a gain of 5 demerit points, not a loss.

Many years a go I used to drive back & forth between Wangaratta & Albury. At night all seasons it was incredible to witness the number of cigarette butts obviously still lit, going out of vehicle windows.

In most cases the driver is legally liable for what ever happens in a car but I think targeting the actual perpetrator is more appropriate in this case. I am just repeating what was said in the news. They didn't happen to state how someone would be punished if they didn't have a licence though I imagine there would be something available to unlicensed passengers who broke the new laws.

"Anyone in the vehicle will lose five points off their licence if caught"

I believe that in Spain the law was (is?) that any person over the alcohol limit in car could be penalised. Maybe this philosophy is being applied here for vehicle borne fire bugs.