Farmers, locals take stock

By Kath Gannaway
MORE than 70 people involved in agriculture-based industries in Yarra Ranges attended the Centre for Agriculture & Business (CAB) Yarra Valley forum in Dixons Creek last week.
The forum at De Bortoli Winery discussed how the agribusiness sector, and the wider community, was dealing with the impact and the recovery from the February fires.
CAB chairman and Lilydale nurseryman Clive Larkman said the group believed it was important to provide a forum to open up what happened and what is happening because of the fires.
The evening aimed to provide an open forum for local people to hear about the fires from a range of speakers and to ask questions.
Taggerty lavender grower David Stirling and Kinglake berry grower Rowan Francis were among an eclectic line-up of speakers. Also speaking were: CFA Region 13 Operations Manager Graeme Armstrong, Lilydale CFA volunteer firefighter Sean Bethell, Regional Recovery Manager with the Department of Human Services (DHS) Barry Gunning and Yarra Valley & The Dandenongs Marketing’s Erin Doyle.
Mr Francis and Mr Stirling gave compelling accounts of their experiences as the fire fronts came through and of the process of moving on to get their businesses back on track.
Each had a fire plan and stuck by it. Both suffered huge losses of their crops.
Mr Stirling said his plan had always been to go. He left for Alexandra with five dogs and two elderly people, one of whom he had not even met.
Mr Francis said he started his fire preparation when the 2006 fires threatened Kinglake.
He said he was well prepared, with massive supplies of water.
Mr Francis’s blow-by-blow account of fighting the fire, which was literally at his doorstep, was gripping.
“We could hear the roar of the fire and all the shadows were orange. The smoke was so thick it just blocked out the sun.”
Mr Armstrong spoke about the role of volunteer firefighters in the community and the CFA’s “leave early or prepare, stay and defend” policy.
“Given Black Saturday’s extraordinary day, weather-wise and fire-wise, some people are questioning that policy, and the Royal Commission will question it too,” he said.
Mr Gunning gave an overview of the role of the DHS, which he said worked with the Shire of Yarra Ranges to set up relief centres. It was continuing to work in the recovery phase, including implementing the Federal Government’s promise to provide case managers for every person effected by the bushfires.
He said the DHS had one staff member involved in emergency response but enlisted more than 130 people from other areas to meet the enormous need.
Erin Doyle told of the immediate response to the impact of the fires on local tourism and retail businesses and of the campaigns already put in place for winter and spring to bring people back to the region and to encourage them to stay.
Mr Larkman said he was very pleased with the response to the forum.
“All the speakers did an excellent job, and I found David and Rowan very moving,” he said.
“I think we all have a better understanding of what the CFA go through, what people who are hit by fire go through and what the government is trying to do to make life better for them,” he said.