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ROYAL COMMISSION TO INQUIRE INTO FIRES

A Royal Commission of Inquiry has been set up following the intense bushfires of 7th February 2009 in which at least 209 persons perished, and many townships destroyed.  It will be some time before the list of properties burnt and houses, businesses, livestock and other assets lost will be finalised.

The Victorian Premier John Brumby  said the Royal Commission, to be led by Justice Teague, would have the broadest possible terms of reference and capacity to inquire into all aspects of the fires.

FULL DETAILS

Full details of the Premier's statement and the terms of reference can be found here (click on link)

Premier Brumby deserves high praise for opting for a Royal Commission with terms of reference specific to particular issues and adding "any other matters that you deem appropriate in relation to the 2009 Bushfires."

THIS IS SIGNIFICANT

Of the plethora of "investigations" into bushfires in Australia since European settlement only three have been Royal Commissions. They all had unfettered powers to seek the truth and terms of reference that were both specific, and open to include any matters the Commissioner believed to be relevant to the investigation.

They were Leonard E B Stretton into the 1939 Black Friday fires in Victoria, Leonard E B Stretton into the fire that ignited the Yallourn open cut coal mine in 1944, and G. J. Rogers into the 1961 Dwellingup fire in Western Australia.

Details of Justice Stretton's 1939 Royal Commission Report can be viewed here

All three Royal Commissions had excellent outcomes that led to improvements in the fire safety of communities.

OTHER  INQUIRIES

Of the other inquiries and investigations, it is difficult to find one that was independent, or where recommendations were not challenged. Good outcomes from these investigations were rare and fixed part of the problem, never the whole.

Forest Fire Victoria has every confidence in the Commission, and are looking forward to it producing the outcomes that the Premier and all Victorians have a right to expect.