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Wednesday May 23, 2012

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Behind the fancy headlines

Posted by: Derryn Hinch | 9 November, 2009 - 6:29 PM
Elvis fights fires early this year - more help may needed this year

I read a newspaper headline at the weekend and I thought: 'Have they no shame?'

And to make it worse it was the first weekend of what is going to be a stinking hot, long, dry, summer. A terrible recipe for more bushfires in the wake of the Black Saturday horror. A shocking wound that still has not healed for many Victorians. If it ever will.

The headline was on Page One of Saturday's Herald Sun. It trumpeted: 'Life Saver. Our new weapon in the battle to stop another Black Saturday.'

The story said 'A multi-million dollar super water-bomber capable of soaking a 1.2 kilometer bushfire in one hit will join our firefighting arsenal this summer'.

Then, reading like one of the back-slapping press releases the Government so expensively churns out, the story said: "With forecasts of a fierce summer, Premier John Brumby moved quickly to get an Australian-first firefighting jet lease, most likely a CD-10 or 747 jumbo carrier."

And the usually invisible Police and Emergency Services Minister Bob Cameron, chimed in with: "This will be another asset as we leave no stone unturned to help deliver on our goal of making Victoria as fire safe and as fire ready as possible."

What obscene, mind-blowing hypocrisy. What a raft of crap. 'Moving quickly' and 'no stone unturned'? These are the same two brave visionaries and Take Control leaders who rejected a request for a leased DC-10 TWICE in 2008. Well before the last bushfire season. Months before Black Saturday.

Our great bushfire expert John Brumby also knocked back the offer of two Russian water bombing planes during the Black Saturday disaster. Those giant planes had been specifically adapted to fight bushfires worldwide. And could have been here in two days.

As I understand it a government official was sent to the United States a year ago to organize the lease and timetable for the DC-10. The leased project was put to Cabinet twice. I believe in March 2008 and December 2008. It was rejected. The DSE didn't even get a reply.

I only found out about it when the National Secretary of the United Firefighters Union, Peter Marshall, mentioned it on this program last month.

He said: "It was not the be all and end all, but it would have made a difference, it would have saved property and saved lives."

As I said last month: What happened? Was it vetoed because it cost too much? I'm told the lease could have cost between four and five million dollars.  A lot of money – but only a 10th of what we lost on the Grand Prix this year and about what they're paying Tiger Woods to play golf here this week.

For Brumby and Cameron to now start taking credit for bold new strategies is a travesty. As I said: Have they no shame?

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Blog comments Your Say

  • Brumby, so far you have circumvented the Bushfire Royal Commission and NOW you are finally spending money which SHOULD have been spent 12 months ago, when it mattered and possibly could have saved 170 lives, plus the other 30 that went missing. It's just TYPICAL of your administration~! It's always AFTER the event that you suddenly decide to spend money. Save the bull for your 'Dad's Army' mentality CFA administration~! You can milk Tiger Woods' popularity, but it won't save you at the next election~!

    Lenny Tuesday 10 November, 2009 - 10:59 PM

  • Can somebody please explain why the current Premier and immediate past Premier who both took decisions not to implement the recommendations of the previous Royal Commission into bushfires, which were designed to reduce the risk of deaths, should not be charged with manslaughter?
    It appears that each took specific decisions not to implement the key recommendations. This decision may have resulted in loss of life and for this it must be investigated.
    It is no different to a car driver who drives in a reckless manner and causes the death of a passenger or a person walking along the street. This person is charged with manslaughter why should Bracks and Brumby not be investigated? Is this the reason neither has been called to give evidence at the current Royal Commission?

    Why are they not charged? Tuesday 10 November, 2009 - 8:24 AM

  • Derryn, perhaps you may also well ask why none of the main recommendations of the governments OWN Parliamentary enquiry into the Alpine fires have been implemented. Released in June, 2008 the Govt didnt even respond until December, 2008. The public land estate is an absolute disgrace. The Policy of "Lock it and Leave it" is a catastrophic failure with tracks overgrown, invasive weed species, and on the ground resources "re-deployed" to other areas. The proclamation of more state parks/reserves is a joke when resources either dont increase as the parks do, or are in fact decreased. All in the report. All ignored. Meanwhile we have Brumby trumpeting his "hero" status. How about he, Bob Cameron and Gavin Jennings get up before the Royal Commission and explain why they were missing in action on February 7th, 2009. Our emergency services minister didnt even bother to find it important enough to get to the main control centre on the day! The day that 173 Victorians, including eight friends of mine, lost their lives. Brumby has failed communities and the photo ops are nothing short of disgusting and despicable. Areas affected earlier this year, including mine, wont forget you next year!!

    Justin Tuesday 10 November, 2009 - 7:15 AM

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