Fire fear grips

By Jade Lawton
HARKAWAY residents filled their public hall for a heated community meeting on Monday night, with preparations for the next fire season high on the agenda.
Edrington Ward councillor Daniel Mulino said the City of Casey was making concrete reforms with the municipal fire plan updated and a consultant – costing the city between $50,000 and $100,000 – employed to assess Harkaway and Casey’s coastal villages.
Cr Mulino also said Harkaway vegetation would get an extra ‘cut’ this year, with lawn mowers to come three times instead of twice during the fire season.
But some residents were unconvinced that the council was effectively managing resources.
“We’ve heard from the premier that in 90 days we could be facing one of the worst fire seasons ever,” Warwick Glendenning said.
“We need to act now. And, goodness me, you are saying that there won’t be another meeting… these people need to be reassured that things will be done now.”
Bill Peeler said: “You’re telling me you are spending $50,000 to $100,000 on a consultant? You’ve got a room full of consultants here.
“We don’t want the propaganda. Why don’t you just get the people out on the ground to do the things that were passed unanimously at the last meeting?”
Cr Mulino said fire safety was one of the council’s priorities this year but there was only so much that the council could do.
“We can’t totally remove the risks through the City of Casey. It comes down to the broader issue about how people manage their personal fire plans,” he said.
The discussion of Old Coach Road was hostile, with Mr Peeler saying the road was gazetted as a public road, giving council ‘no right’ to close it to residents.
Mr Pargeter backed the claims and accused the councillors of being ‘gagged’ by Casey CEO Mike Tyler.
“There is a lie in this and I want to explain it. Do you want to cover up a lie, Mr chair? You are trying to stop these people from hearing the facts.”
City of Casey mayor Geoff Ablett said the road would be unlocked at the beginning of the fire season, with gates opened on days of total fire ban – but said that the council and the CFA were concerned about its safety as an evacuation route.
“Syd, we are not gagged by anybody,” Cr Ablett said.
“We’ve been over and over this.
“We have had long, serious conversations about safety and taken advice from the experts. If disaster control direct you down there that is the only time you go down that track.”
Berwick CFA Captain Alan Boyd agreed.
“We want people to leave early. People who leave late die.
“We hear all this and there is a lot of emotion but, at the end of the day, we are not going to leave you here to burn.”
One resident stood up and defended the councillors after a hostile exchange.
“I am hearing a whole lot of angst against these blokes – they aren’t all bad and they are better off as our friends, around the table, than our enemies,” he said.
Cr Curtis also encouraged residents to help each other.
“After Black Saturday, the most common call I had was people calling up to complain about their neighbour.
“Please go and knock on the door of your neighbour and see if they need some help.
“We need to work towards getting together as a community and building that community spirit.”
Cr Mulino and Cr Curtis said they would be in contact with the Harkaway Residents Group weekly to monitor concerns.
The council will collect tree branches from Harkaway properties for free as part of clean up Harkaway week from 19-26 October.