Bushfire victims seek $100m in damages

March 2, 2010 by admin

(Courier Mail) AROUND 600 victims of the 2003 bushfires that devastated Canberra are suing the ACT and NSW governments for failing to stop the firestorm from reaching the nation's capital. They're asking for damages expected to top $100 million. [..] A 2006 ACT coroner's report laid responsibility for the catastrophe squarely at the feet of the ACT's Emergency Services Bureau and its senior officials. But the coroner also found ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope knew two days before the bushfires ripped through Canberra's outer suburbs that a potential disaster was imminent. He "did nothing'' to properly inform the public of the threat, she said. The Supreme Court hearing, expected to last 12 weeks, continues. read more

Condolences to the families that lost so much. Aren't government jobs great -- Those like Jon Stanhope supposedly screw up, and we the tax payers have to foot their bill.

related: Burglar who sparked fires gets jail