NSW Farmers calls for Sir Ivan bushfire Coronial Inquiry

Association delegates voted to lobby for an inquiry during their annual conference in Circular Quay this week. 

Farmers had previously expressed frustration to The Land over perceived RFS inaction during the height of the fire danger on February 11 and 12, when a large proportion of property damage was done.

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Concerns were repeated this week, delegates particularly frustrated over what they said was a clear lack of communication. 

"The fire has caused a lot of angst and distress for our members who were impacted and they believe there was inadequate communication between the RFS senior leadership team and those on the fire front,” Association Rural Affairs committee chairwoman Sonia O’Keefe said. 

The Sir Ivan bushfire burned for almost a month, tearing through 55,000 hectares of farming land in the Central West, affecting 138 properties, destroying more than 5000 head of sheep and cattle, and wrecking 5700 kilometres of fencing.

Many landholders were left devastated. Several who spoke to The Land accepted, however, volunteer brigades were required to follow orders from up the chain, and thanked them for their efforts. 

Shortly after the fire, RFS representatives met with Cassilis landholders to hear their frustration and explain why some crews had been pulled back in some areas during the height of the blaze.

The emergence of pyro-convective conditions  – whereby fire generates its own weather system, including lightning – was one reason given for crews seeking safe ground.

Cassilis brigade captain Shane Rawlinson had said all volunteers were required to heed the directions of the RFS’ incident controller. 

“I can’t speak for the people who lost homes because I can’t imagine what that feels like, but I can tell you it hurts when you tell us we’re not good enough and that we sat on the road and watched your houses burn,” Mr Rawlinson said in February.  

Ms O’Keefe said NSW Farmers’ calls for a coronial inquiry were not a reflection on the work of the men and women who were on the ground fighting the fire.

"We value our bushfire brigades and the association believes an inquiry would be beneficial for the management of future fires.

"Dialogue between stakeholders and the RFS could improve and we'd like to see the RFS doing more to reach out to farmers.”

At the NSW Farmers' annual conference, delegates also passed another motion to vigorously pursue with the Rural Fire Service shortcomings in the management of bushfires.

"This motion is designed to look at issues including the deployment and most efficient use of RFS units during the fire, the lack of official RFS support for local land managers fighting the fire and a lack of local command posts to have direct contact with Fire Control headquarters," Ms O'Keefe said.

A third motion was passed to ensure that the RFS interpretation of an asset recognises the importance of livestock and pastures.