THE Victorian Government must consider buying bush blocks in fire-prone areas to prevent further loss of life.

That's the message from RMIT's Environment Planning Group leader Michael Buxton, who warned the fires on February 7 proved it was also time to reintroduce strict planning regulations in fire-prone areas.

Prof Buxton said Melbourne's outer-urban councils were virtually powerless to stop new homes being built on 50,000 blocks, many of which were in fire-prone zones.

"The question is what do we do with these 50,000 subdivisions?" he said. "I think we need to study them and determine those that can't be defended from fire and then consider buying them back."

Prof Buxton said the former Hamer Government had purchased thousands of small rural subdivisions in high fire-risk areas and imposed strict planning regulations to stop further subdivisions.

"Governments during the 1970s and 1980s bought back many thousands of inappropriate subdivisions because they were located in some of the most fire-prone areas in the world," Prof Buxton said.

But he said the Kennett (Government) era saw the abolition of many of these strict planning regulations.

"The Kennett Government put in place a permissive planning scheme, with very few controls," Prof Buxton said.

"These (latest) fires are a wake-up call, that it's time to get away from the anti-planning rhetoric of the Kennett era."

Prof Buxton said the Victorian Government needed to not only buy back blocks but restrict further small-lot rural subdivisions to protect lives and the rural landscape.

"I went up to Walhalla recently where people have fenced off old goldfield-era lots and put caravans and houses up there, which is one of the most fire prone regions in the state," he said.

Prof Buxton said small-lot rural subdivisions were also having an impact on catchment water yields and agricultural productivity.

Victorian Premier John Brumby said the Government would support all those who wanted to rebuild their homes.

However, he told the media this week new building regulations would be introduced for the construction of all new houses in these areas.