By JESSE GRAHAM
THE DEVASTATING Murrindindi bushfire that destroyed Marysville and its surrounds on Black Saturday was caused by a fallen power line whose failure was preventable, according to a coronial finding.
But AusNet Services, the company in charge of the power line, has come out against the finding, calling the evidence “untested”.
State Coroner Ian Gray delivered an in-chambers finding into the 2009 fire on 27 November, confirming the theory that the bushfire was started by a fallen power line.
Coroner Gray wrote that the origin and cause of the fire was from a failed conductor between two poles, Poles 5 and 6 on the Murrindindi power line, which fell on and electrified a fence on Wilhelmina Falls Road in Murrindindi, igniting vegetation.
In the 32-page report, Coroner Gray lists evidence, reports and interviews with experts and eyewitnesses, compiled through police and Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission (VBRC) investigations, to come to his finding.
The finding, delivered three months before the seventh anniversary of the fire, holds AusNet Services (formerly SP AusNet) responsible for the fire, which killed 40 people and destroyed the towns of Marysville, Narbethong and Buxton.
The Coroner cited a report in 2011 that concluded the construction of Pole 6 was “flawed”, with a stay wire used to secure one of the poles being closer than the required 45 centimetres from the conductor.
He found this resulted in arcing during the extreme weather, causing the conductor to break and fall across the fence.
“It is clear that Pole 6 was not constructed to the internal standards of the utility or to industry guidelines applicable at that time,” the report read.
“From examination of evidence presented, it is beyond doubt that the conductor was alive when it fell across the boundary fence … directly in line with the reported point of fire origin.”
He also wrote that AusNet were “unable to locate or supply any records” regarding repairs and re-alignments on the pole in the days following the fires.
Though Coroner Gray noted that other options – including potential arson, a discarded cigarette or a lightning strike – were investigated as potential causes, there was “no evidence” of other types of ignition.
AusNet Services spokesperson Jonathon Geddes said that, while the company had “the deepest sympathy” for those impacted by the fires, the company disagreed with the Coroner’s findings.
“We don’t agree with the findings, as they were determined without a hearing and the evidence upon which they are based was untested,” he said in a written statement.
However, Coroner Gray wrote in the finding that he decided not to hold an open inquest into the fire, as the Coroner’s Act 2008 recommends avoiding “unnecessary duplication of inquiries and investigations”, and to “expedite the investigation of deaths and fires”.
“I convey my sincere condolences to the families of the 40 people who died as a result of the Murrindindi fire,” he wrote.
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers’ corporate relationships manager of class actions Cameron Scott said the $300 million settlement for the Murrindindi fire class action, announced in February, would not be affected by the new findings.
“These record settlements have been approved by the courts and remain unaffected by the Coronial findings,” he said.
“We’re continuing the important work required to ensure our group members have their claims assessed and can receive their money as soon as possible.”
The $300 million settlement included payments of $260.9 million from AusNet, $10 million from UAM and $29.1 million from the State Parties – Victoria Police, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP, formerly DSE), and the CFA, and was made on the basis of no admission of liability from the parties.
Another settlement, worth $494 million, was reached for the Kilmore fire, which destroyed Kinglake and Steels Creek, and devastated areas of Toolangi and Chum Creek, before the Murrindindi settlement was announced.
For the full coronial report, visit http://bit.ly/1Y0nNLj.
