Politicians get whacked a fair bit for many reasons, but when the government uses its powers to make laws that will matter to its constituents, it goes some way to restoring faith in parliament.

The NSW state government announced the crackdown following a recommendation of the Sentencing Council to help ensure those who committed bush fire offences spend more time behind bars.

Fire and Rescue NSW Dubbo station commander Chris Cusack said bush fires had the capacity to affect a large number of people and communities.

He says bush fires don't just impact on one person, they also hurt the infrastructure of a community.

For those who have lived through a bush fire, Mr Cusack's words would ring true.

Bush fires hit communities from many angles.

They devastate people and property, but then the rebuild afterwards often takes a mental, physical and financial toll on victims.

"They take a coordinated response from Fire and Rescue and the Rural Fire Service, and they take a massive amount of resources to fight," Mr Cusack said.

"A normal house fire, whilst it is devastating for the people involved we normally can contain them to the area of the house, but bush fires are hard to access, we fight with limited water, and they are incredibly dangerous."

Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders said with another hot and dry summer around the corner, it was essential there were strong laws in place to protect farmers and communities who were already battling. That's a fact, so let's hope the new laws go a long way to discouraging firebugs this summer.

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