Fire views hot up

By Kath Gannaway
BUXTON resident Ray Donkin spoke out against the policy of moving away from identified fire refuge areas when he presented his view on the February bushfires to the 2009 Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission at Marysville last week.
Mr Donkin, who runs a tourism business from Nareen, a rural property on the Maroondah Highway, attended the final of four sessions held at Marysville Golf Club on Monday, 6 and Tuesday 7 April.
The 23 meetings held across the bushfire-affected areas aimed to provide people directly impacted by the fires with an informal opportunity to raise views about key issues, including the causes and circumstances of the fires and the planning and response.
The final consultation was held at Strathewen on Wednesday.
The Royal Commission is headed by The Honourable Bernard Teague, and comprises fellow commissioners Ronald McLeod and Susan Pascoe.
“I was very critical of Murrindindi Shire for not having a plan which told people this is where you go,” he said after the meeting.
The practice of identifying “refuge” areas where people would meet in the event of a fire or other threat was phased out some years ago.
Marysville residents did gather at Gallipoli Park when the fire-storm hit on 7 February and many were led out by police in a convoy from Marysville to Buxton and then on to Alexandra.
Mr Donkin said the potentially dangerous journey to Alexandra could have been avoided if his property, with its massive lake, had been used as a refuge.
“It was inevitable that this would happen and I have suggested in the past that I could fit 100 or more cars in here and all you have is low cut grass.
“I used to tell them you could just back a fire truck in, put the pump in the dam and have everyone here, protected instead of sending them along the highway to Alex.”
He said the suggestion that the change in refuge policy was a response to the threat of being sued, if someone were to get hurt was ludicrous.
“If that’s their sole reason that’s appalling,” he said. “Surely, the government would be shamed into standing by anyone who potentially saved hundreds of lives.”
Mr Donkin also raised concerns, along with others, about the lack of warning. “I can’t see why the government can’t break into the TV stations and announce when there is an imminent and urgent threat in an area,” he said.
He told the Mail other recurring issues were the reluctance by Murrindindi Shire and VicRoads to adequately clear roadsides of vegetation.
Michael Schevchuk, who lives between Narbethong and Buxton, said there were some heated views put forward about the lack of communication and warning.
“There are ways in which you can have warning systems,” he said. “Communication needs to be better between the services, and after the event.”
Mr Schevchuk said the last communication he had with his family in Melbourne on 7 February was that the house was filling with smoke but that he was still OK.
“They were trying to come up and couldn’t get through, and I was unable to contact them,” he said.
Ron Whitehead also spoke of the need for better and more accurate communication during and after the fires.
He lost fences and sheds on his Buxton farm, but his house escaped the fire.
He said another issue was the preparedness, mentally and emotionally, of people to stay and defend their properties.
“A lot of people decided to stay and defend and they have that right but this was such a massive event and there has to be a greater understanding of what this sort of thing can do,” he said.
He also raised the point of the need for urgent and increased involvement of the military.
“We would have been a lot further on with the clean up if the military had been brought in. In a couple of months many of the rural properties will be too wet to get into them.”
The Royal Commission is required to deliver an interim report by 17 August.
A date of 31 July 2010 has been set for the final report.
For details about how to make a written submission to the Royal Commission visit www.royalcommission. vic.gov.au