72-year-old David Wilpour survived the bushfires but is now being punished for doing so.

He lives at Dargan, near Lithgow, in the NSW Blue Mountains.

55 per cent of homes on his street were destroyed by the Gospers Mountain fire over summer. His house survived but it wasn’t through luck.

Before the fires, David cleared his land to make it fire safe, after receiving permission from the council to do so. They’ve since claimed he never had permission and have threatened him with fines of up to $186,000.

The Department of Climate Change and Water even tried to ban him from entering his own land.

David’s home survived the bushfires and tells Alan Jones the devastation his neighbours are experiencing is exactly what he preparing for.

“I’ve been saying for years up here that if we don’t do something we’re going to have major dramas up here. And that’s exactly what happened.

“I really believe the councils have some culpability in this fire. If you allow subdivisions in the bush then you have to allow people to make them fire safe.”

Alan says he’s in shock that bureaucrats are still coming after David when he was clearly proven to be correct.

“I’m speechless, and I’m not often speechless. This is astonishing!”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview