The public servants and their officer holders must take great care in preparing the reports which will follow this enormous event and make sure that they now re earn the trust, which has now been lost in their care as defenders of our communities,families and their children.

Well said, Richard, let's hope the Victorian government etc respond better than did their ACT counterparts a few years ago. "Mea culpas" all round.

The first Royal Commission occured in 1923 (I think) there has been 6 more since then , how many RC's are needed , particuarly considering they all found "Fuel Reduction was required for safty". All Country people know this , Aboriginals also know this , the people who were self appointed custodians of the River Red Gum forests know this .
All the Pollies , Public Servents , Forestry Bigots etc don't know because it would be them who would be responsible for Back Burning the forrests . Note the Aboriginal Lady at the Memorial service who said that her people fired the bush every seven years .

It's pretty safe to say that Fuel Reduction will never happen .

Unless seven is some kind of Magic Number .

Tap Barmah Forrest into Google to find out how fanatical the forrestry commision thugs are , the citizens of Barmah decidered to purchase 30 cows to eat the long grass that endangered their villiage . The Fanatical Forrest Thugs turned up with a platoon of Police . They demonstrated their incompetence they found nothing .
Under their watch the Famous Barma Forrest will shortly be a moonscape courtsy of the public servants .

From a passer-by farmer's point of view, must only say to the writer, spot on.

However the very wonderful music and ceremony paying homage to those who died under such horrific circumstances, may have too much lulled the minds to the necessary use of historical insight to busy the minds with the needed foresight for better preparation against similar tragedies in the coming years.

In more simple terms, as any wheat cockie knows, to learn from the past to prepare for the future.

Regards, BB, WA.

ShazBaz has made one of the most important points. The truth has been repeatedly identified and then covered up or drowned out by those who have the ability to create their own reality using shear will power. Because it makes them feel so good.

Notice how the media elite attempted to herd public opinion by harping ad nauseam on the human element -- the arsonist.

When even they could not completely drown the voices of reason, the media started up the lie that hazard reduction can occur on only a few days a year.

Minimising risk is the only real possibility. Fire will occur and the only controllable factor is the intensity i.e. fuel load.

Extreme Greens have been complicit in the killing of more Australians than all of our mass murderers collectively. Yet they remain smug, confident and delusional while wielding disproportionate political power.

Next they will be arguing for increased benchmarks for our Emission Trading Scheme to counteract the release of a Zillion Mega Tonnes of that poisonous CO2 pollutant from the fires.

Sadly times have changed.
Once anyone who lived near bushland could burn off whatever and whenever they liked. They usually were done at short notice when the conditions were suitable and probably saved many lives. But a few were not so well managed and property and lives were lost and in todays litigious culture we all know what that means.

Now burnoffs need to be planned well in advance and regularly canceled because nature dosnt adhere to the script and throws up a rainstorm or too much wind etc. They also need an army of firefighters and their trucks and equipment. A check with the scientists to see that no endangered animals might be endangered. A labyrinth of govt bureaucracy to navigate. And someone to pay for all of the above.

Its no wonder there are nowhere near enough hazard reduction burns anymore. I doubt there is any way we can change this. We will have to look to other means to protect ourselves. Fireproofing of houses, restricting development in fire prone areas, even mandatory evacuations and sacrificing property over lives will have to be looked at further as burnoffs are just too problematic these days.