Class action launch

By Kath Gannaway
ALMOST a year after fire victims packed a public meeting at Yarra Glen, a class action has been launched in relation to the Kilmore East-Kinglake bushfires.
Leading class action lawyers Maurice Blackburn in conjunction with Oldham Naidoo Lawyers have lodged a Statement of Claim in the Supreme Court of Victoria against Singapore Power International.
The proposed class action was described last year as a landmark case with Queen’s Counsel Timothy Tobin telling the meeting “This is one of the most significant pieces of litigation in the history of Australia.”
The action alleges that on 7 February a 1.1 kilometre Singapore Power powerline broke in Kilmore East, causing the fire which quickly spread.
The Kilmore East-Kinglake blaze was the fire that devastated areas including Kinglake, Flowerdale, Steels Creek, Dixons Creek and Toolangi.
The fire resulted in 121 deaths, the destruction of 1244 homes, damage to 530 homes and the devastation of 75,744 hectares of land.
Maurice Blackburn in their Statement of Claim allege that Singapore Power failed to:
– fit a $10 protective device called a ‘vibration damper’ on the powerline which contributed to it breaking;
– properly inspect and maintain the 43-year-old powerline which stretched 1.1 kilometres across the valley in a recognised high bushfire risk area; and
– have an adequate system of replacing old powerlines before they break.
“We have heard strong evidence at the Royal Commission that Singapore Power could have taken a number of steps to prevent the devastating Kilmore East-Kinglake bushfire,” Maurice Blackburn lawyer Bernard Murphy said.
He said the commission heard that the powerline that ignited the Kilmore East-Kinglake bushfire was not fitted with a vibration damper as a result of Singapore Power’s policy not to fit them to existing powerlines, even though they were much more likely to break than new ones.
“Singapore Power’s failures have had very tragic consequences,” he said.
More than 1300 people have registered their interest in the class action and over 600 have signed up to join it.