Australia Fires

[olaf hart]

One of the great truths of Australian politics is you don’t win government, you lose it...

[olaf hart]

Originally Posted by Wotname

I'm pretty sure thinking people aren't blaming the PM for the fires and also not expecting him to be at the end of a hose.

However his lack of leadership in the current national crisis has been dismal especially when compared to previous PMs of both persuasions. Even his mates are shaking their collective heads.

Australians probably expected him to take his kids to the beach at Christmas - it's what we do. It is a little over the top to take them to a beach on the other side of the world but hey, maybe that is the new way for this decade and there is plenty in the coffers to pay for the security etc right now (the budget has brought back into surplus next year - yes that is the future past tense) .

But we did expect him to pop back home right away when leadership was needed. Jenny could have looked after the kids for a few days and might have enjoyed a break away from hubby.

Even then, the cricket was more important and maybe it was but it doesn't past the pub test.

Of course it was accidental that the bloke from marketing has to front up as a leader. Potato Head was meant to be the top dog but was outplayed by smarter folk. Mind you, he wouldn't have stood for this disrespect nonsense - you would be in the back of the paddy wagon as quick as a flash if you refused to shake his hand.

Hopefully slomo's marketing smarts will kick in soon and he will be able to get back to the bubble - how good is the bubble now!

Most marketers will tell you if you are neck deep in **** you need to stop digging...

[El Pinguino]

The Minister for Kirribilli handled his press conference quite well... until they started asking him questions....

I think that in Victoria at least the volunteer system is just fine...CFA has 69,000 members of which 3000 are on the payroll.... 1600 tankers...

In situations such as this where they are out fighting fires for extended periods.... yes ... they should go on pay.

Meanwhile back in Chiltern, sighted down by the railway station, been there complete with driver for several hours....

[El Pinguino]

Elsewhere in town.... everyone would appear to have retired to the pub and the town has been invaded by an alien life form.....

Some more re the CFA
https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/home
http://emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/
https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/about

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

.............

I think that in Victoria at least the volunteer system is just fine...CFA has 69,000 members of which 3000 are on the payroll.... 1600 tankers...

In situations such as this where they are out fighting fires for extended periods.... yes ... they should go on pay.

.......

The volunteer system works really well when there is callout for a few hours/days to deal with a local fire every month or so. There is usually enough volunteers to go around so each one only dons the overalls and helmet once or twice a year. They know their patch, the roads and tracks and which farmers who can assist and who "not to ask".

No expense needed to keep a paid professional team sitting around in the station every day doing weights or crosswords.

But this model was never intended for deployment for weeks and months right across the country. That they has risen to the challenge is of great credit to them but IMO, it is not suitable for the future fire challenges.

I don't have the answer but the question is worth researching IMO.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Elsewhere in town.... everyone would appear to have retired to the pub and the town has been invaded by an alien life form.....

Some more re the CFA
https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/home
http://emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/
https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/about

Yikes, wool bombers!!!
They turned up here last year

[BigAl.NZ]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

Unmitigated rubbish.

Are you claiming that some sort of fire god divinity turned on the people of Australia because they voted for a conservative government.

What I am stating is that rising climate temperatures is a factor in this years fire season. And that a major contributor to climate warming is the burning of coal.

Scott Morrison denies there is any link, doesn't listen to the scientists and once famously held up a lump of coal and said "its coal don't be afraid".

Yeah its been years in the making and will continue for years unless we makes changes now.

[GILow]

The thing that surprises me is that anyone is surprised by the PM’s lack of action. This is a guy who cleverly campaigned on the “maintain the status quo”, “don’t rock the boat” approach. Everything about his style and campaign were about reassuring Australians that everything is just fine.

So did we suddenly expect him to turn into a man of vision and action?

[El Pinguino]

One Victorian service you don't hear much of is the FFMV... https://www.ffm.vic.gov.au

They have their own full time firefighters, lots of trucks and about 100 aircraft. Hard to find out much about them. However they were very much in view earlier in the season... about a month ago I saw a lot of their vehicles passing up the Ovens Highway bound somewhere.... probably off to an early season fire up around Mitta.

With the CFA... I reckon our Chiltern tankers would be out and about locally maybe a dozen or more times in the summer.... Feb 2013 lightning strike on my back paddock followed ( 3rd & 4th pics ) by another lightning strike on the neighbour's place 14 days later... then a car into tree outside the front gate... they are kept busy enough. Most years they will also find themselves being deployed 'out of area' a few times for extended periods.

In the present situation... I believe about 1000 CFA are currently deployed of their 19000 available firefighters and they rotate them through the job. Ditto bringing tankers in from other regions... any half decent fire will see tankers turning up from all over the state if it lasts long enough.
These fires will need tankers in attendance until the autumn break.... that is the norm with most alpine fires... most years... just on a much grander scale this year...

I think the system is working.

[Tillsbury]

It's not a big surprise since Australia tends to go through near enough one prime minister a year. Over here in NZ we've given up even trying to remember who it is this year. It'll be someone else next year for sure...

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Tillsbury

It's not a big surprise since Australia tends to go through near enough one prime minister a year. Over here in NZ we've given up even trying to remember who it is this year. It'll be someone else next year for sure...

Yes, last I checked I think we were the least stable democracy in the Southern Hemisphere with our eyes firmly set on global domination of the category.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by BigAl.NZ

What I am stating is that rising climate temperatures is a factor in this years fire season. And that a major contributor to climate warming is the burning of coal.

Scott Morrison denies there is any link, doesn't listen to the scientists and once famously held up a lump of coal and said "its coal don't be afraid".

Yeah its been years in the making and will continue for years unless we makes changes now.

What everyone would agree is certainly a factor is the high temps that have occasioned this fire season. Despite all the media hype that these temps are "record-breaking," however, historical data produced by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology suggests these temps, along with the lack of rainfall, are not particularly aberrant. Were not higher temps recorded in 1896 and then again in 1909? Aren't frequent and extended droughts in this part of the world also part of the historical record? The climate scientist interviewed in the video towards the bottom of the attached article certainly seems to think so. (also linked in post #33 upthread). Should the PM also be listening to her perhaps?

https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.word...limate-change/

I'm also reading (albeit from afar) about what appears to be a consensus from local residents & firefighters that puts much if not most of the blame on poor forestry management practices for which environmentalists are mostly being blamed. This sounds a lot like the devastating Calif. fires in the US not long ago, with most of the people blaming it on climate change being well removed from the actual scene. Although I don't know anything about the Australian PM and so hold no opinion, it does seem incongruous to blame him (along with his lump of coal) for these catastrophic events when what appears to be the more obvious cause seems all too clear.

[Dave_S]

There used to be back burning and fire breaks done routinely when fire risk was low, I haven't seen it done for a long time. You go to national parks now, you can't burn the wood lying on the ground, you have to leave it there and bring your own.

I believe there will be some rethinking after these fires are done.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Dave_S

There used to be back burning and fire breaks done routinely when fire risk was low, I haven't seen it done for a long time. You go to national parks now, you can't burn the wood lying on the ground, you have to leave it there and bring your own.

I believe there will be some rethinking after these fires are done.

Oh how I and many others hope your belief hold true.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by GILow

The thing that surprises me is that anyone is surprised by the PM’s lack of action. This is a guy who cleverly campaigned on the “maintain the status quo”, “don’t rock the boat” approach. Everything about his style and campaign were about reassuring Australians that everything is just fine.

So did we suddenly expect him to turn into a man of vision and action?

Policy has always been that the operation of the RFS is a state responsibility. The federal government has always waited until being asked by the states for help.

That's what happened this time. But this time the lefties are going to complain no matter what.