The New South Wales deputy coroner has been unable to determine the cause of the massive bushfire that burned in the Warrumbungle National Park in 2013. The fire started at Wambelong Campground near Coonabarabran in January 2013 and destroyed more than 50 homes, while burning 95 per cent of the National Park.
On Thursday 3rd June 1999, Andrew Clennell published an article in the Sydney Morning Herald titled: “Hollywood fire chief has too much power: councils”, many Volunteers have suggested that nothing has changed and it is getting worse.
VFFA President, Brian Williams talk to ABC’s Rural Country Hour Host, Michael Condon.
He said that the inquiry was conducted in a very methodical way, heard valuable testimony and was very balanced in the way it went about its business.
“The NSW Upper House inquiry made 29 recommendations to help avoid future bushfires across national parks and farmland.”
“The recommendations of the inquiry represent commonsense improvements to fire management.”
Coonabarabran Farmer and Bushfire fighter, Rod Young was interviewed by Prime 7 News in relation to the upcoming announcement by the NSW State Government regarding the findings of the Public Enquiry into the disastrous bushfires of January 2013. The NSW State Government is now due to released it’s report into the findings on Monday 14th September 2015.
Rod Young is the NSW Farmers representative on the bushfire management committee of the Rural Fire Service in the Castlereagh Zone. He said there are some recommendations that stand out as essential.
Only three months into the job and Emergency Services Minister David Elliott has upset some of the very people he is in the post to represent.
Volunteer firefighters along with landowners who lost property and farm animals in the Wambelong Fire on “Black Sunday” in January 2013 say they are insulted by comments made by the minister at a recent conference.
Image: Martin Lill, son of stud farmer Stephen Lill, who lost more than 200 stud cattle in the fire. Photo: Jacky Ghossein
Who’s right – The RFS, conservationists, farmers, politicians or firefighters?
Decide carefully. If you live in the Blue Mountains or bushfire-prone country, your home could literally depend on it.
A tug-of-war has erupted over the location of the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) headquarters. NSW Farmers wants the agency to move from Sydney to the Central West when its lease ends in 2018, but the RFS hierarchy has made its city-centric preference clear.
NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott is due to respond to the Coonabarabran (Wambelong) fire inquiry by August 20, but agricultural bodies, fire service groups, and academics are split on how the state government should best apply the recommendations.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars in government funding for disaster relief may have ended up in the pockets of New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) employees, a corruption inquiry in Sydney has been told.