From Tony Sutcliffe ( Canberra Times)
Eminent jurist, Allan Myers QC summed up the situation with his scathing
review of the Victorian Inquiry: "the terms of reference for the Esplin
Inquiry were deficient, being too vague, generalized and unfocussed and, at
the same time too narrow.... Matters which the terms of reference ought to
have addressed include land use practices of Parks Victoria, forest
husbandry practices in Victorian State forests and specific steps which
could have been taken to control and extinguish the fires but which were
not taken, or not taken in a timely manner".
ACT Coroner Maria Doogan plainly understands this. Consequently she finds
herself in the siights of a cartel of State and Territory Government
environmental and fire agencies.
The commonality of their outlooks, history and practices means that Doogan
was effectively inquiring ito the lot of them. Her inquiry would uncover
precisely how these fires were allowed to destroy hundreds of homes,
destroy thousands of hectares of trees and cremate thousands of native
animals. She would uncover under-resourcing of national parks and the
dysfuntionality of fire services which spurn of fire service which spurn
the value of local volunteer expertise. She would find out why our fellow
human beings were allowed to die.
Equally Doogan would discover why the ACT finds itself at the epicentre of
NSW and Victorias incompetence. Such inquiries are what underpins the
preservation of social democracy. We should remember it is not just high
profile watchdogs like Doogan who are under the hammer. The political
intimidation extends to the most fundamental level of our community.
When NSW and ACT volunteer firefighters gathered to protest at the Supreme
Cour last week, they had received almost identical warning from their fire
services not to wear uniforms. NSW volunteer firefighter Bruce Noble stood
defiantly and wore his uniform, because volunteer fire fighting is an
integral part of country Australian's identity. "The ACT Coroner should be
allowed to finish her job immediately and let the truth be told" insists Noble.
The same patronising "we know best" attitude was echoed earlier in
Victoria, when a fire fighter was put on charges for publicising the
notorious inflammability of Victoria's fibreglass firetankers. Such
volunteers are paying the cost of the environment and fire agencies
becoming hopelessly entwined with their political masters' fortunes.
Don't just watch the leaders. The entire political left is complicit in the
cover up. If conservative governments had created the bush fire
incompetence, then the Greens and their allies would be incandescent with
rage. Instead their cosy relationships with the ALP leave them sitting on
their hands - muted, neutered and obsolete.
The Stanhope Government has risked all, including its fundamental
credibility, in a hopeless quest to diminish the standing of Doogan. Its
allies can't believe their luck.