"People choose to live where they want to live and have to take responsibility for it. People do that all over the world," a resident said.

Another resident said some arterial roads in Macedon and Ashburton were "death traps".

On fuel reduction, residents felt they should be able to remove fallen trees from the roadside at their own will. Some said fuel reduction should be targeted around townships and should be a high priority. About 100 people attended the meeting at the Woodend Community Centre last week to debate the commission's recommendations.

The Department of Justice hosted 24 consultation meetings around the state to gauge community views.

Residents debated the need for refuges; local governments and their obligation to the community, including the area of bushfire and emergency planning, as well as evacuations; power lines and cabling, land acquisition and fuel reduction burning.

Woodend resident Howard Jackson said people should be more proactive by clearing hazards from their properties.

"There needs to be more respect for where you live; you are responsible for the area you live in," he said.

"People need to start by clearing mess in their gardens, getting rid of neglected trees, dead trees, to make their properties more fire secure."

Mayor Rob Guthrie said there were some strong comments about land acquisition. "On the table I was on, people said no, they didn't want it.

"Other comments were that neighbourhood safer places should be renamed places of last resort, after plan A, B and C fail. People need to know there isn't going to be a fire truck out the front protecting you. Where are [refuges] going to be and who is going to be responsible for them. From a local government perspective, I don't have any money for them."

Cr Guthrie said about seven commission recommendations had shifted costs from the state government to a local level.

"We'd like to do a lot of the work, we want to be involved, but we don't have the resources or the expertise to carry these recommendations out.

"We don't have any spare resources and if there are expectations on local government, then there needs to be some financial assistance."

Seven of the nine Macedon Ranges councillors attended the meeting.

The department was criticised by residents for not not adequately publicising the sessions.