The ABC commentary is here –
Key points
Agencies not prepared for a major emergency
Confusion between police and fire service about who was in charge
Fire service failed to act on computer simulations predicting Dunalley could be devastated by the Forcett fire
Road closures could have been handled better
Lives probably put at risk
103 recommendations
Government accepts 72 recommendations, 31 approved in principle
30 prioritised for immediate start
Fuel reduction planning begins immediately
the report is introduced here – note the 1967 history – www site to download the pdf report in two parts total ~16MB.
Subsequent ABC news items as various parties position themselves – Opposition wants Tasmanian minister to quit over bushfire crisis – Firefighters take a swipe at January bushfire inquiry findings – Premier rejects Opposition claims fire fuel warnings ignored.
After the devastation of the Dunalley fire 4 Jan 2013 I posted this – Question about large fixed wing air tankers, water bombers in Australia now – Dunalley fire timeline. The report Appendix has timelines which show the Forcett fire (which ran and destroyed Dunalley on the 4th) was known to be burning on the 3rd.
I am saying this is a case where a four engined air tanker could have put out the Forcett fire on the 3rd. Too often our fire services seem to “accompany fires” – exhausting their resources. For example Yass and SE Cooma last summer – both of which burnt for several days – and the town of Yass was lucky not to come under direct attack. In both cases I am saying four engined air tankers would have been useful in suppressing those fires.
As a nation we spend $Billions on border protection but can not see the advantage in spending a few $Million each summer to charter a four engined water bomber or two. Technology that should probably be controlled by the RAAF.
IMHO the Victorian fire hierarchy on Black Saturday 7 Feb 2009 was in some disarray to say the least – possibly caught out by having their focus to the SE of Melbourne that morning and never properly catching up with catastrophic events to the north through the afternoon.
In the case of the Canberra fires 18 January 2003; these had been burning in NSW bush to the west and north west of the ACT for over a week – yet residents had little advance warning from authorities of the attack that Saturday afternoon.