By Kath Gannaway
A CLASS action by bushfire victims against power company SP Ausnet was described at a meeting in Yarra Glen on Thursday night as a landmark case.
“This is one of the most significant pieces of litigation in the history of Australia,” Queen’s Counsel Timothy Tobin told the meeting.
Legal firms Maurice Blackburn and Slidders Lawyers have mounted a class action alleging a powerline owned by Singapore-based SP Ausnet caused the Kilmore East-Kinglake fires, which they told the meeting was the fire that devastated areas including Kinglake, Flowerdale, Steels Creek, Dixons Creek and Toolangi.
A legal A-team led by Bernard Murphy, senior principal of Maurice Blackburn, invited anyone who had suffered loss because of the fires to register to join the 500 people he said had already signed up.
Mr Murphy and Mr Tobin, who will present the case against SP Ausnet in the Supreme Court and is representing bushfire victims at the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission, spelt out the case they will be presenting, and explained the class action process.
The case would, they said, be fought on a “no-win-no-pay” basis.
Mr Murphy said it would be argued the power company had failed in its maintenance of a powerline in Kilmore East.
“The fire started in a remote valley where a 1.2km-span SWER (single wire earth return) line broke.
The line was inadequately inspected and maintained, he said.
“We think we have a good case of negligence.”
Mr Tobin said he had been involved in a number of previous bushfire actions against power companies.
“I thought after the fires in the ’80s that we weren’t going to face this type of fire in the future,” he said.
“There had been recommendations put in place, but since privatisation in 1993 there has been a very poor record in the maintenance of this power system,” he said.
He said class actions had the power to make people or corporations act more responsibly.
“One of the purposes of litigation is not merely recovery, but so people won’t have to come and address meetings like this with the same issues in the future,” he said.
Loss adjuster Ian Aberdeen provided information on how people might assess losses, which could include physical, psychological and property.
A “fire-loss” workbook was available to assist people to log their losses.
About 60 people registered on the night to join the class action. Further information is available on 1800 99 55 70.
The Mail contacted SP Ausnet but had not had a response by deadline time.
But SP Ausnet is on record as saying it denies liability and will vigorously defend the case.
