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    colin hussey December 6, 2019 at 6:43pm

    Its an unknown Tad, animals and birds though are pretty resilent, for me as much as I hurt for the animals and those who have lost properties and loved ones, I am still angry regarding the ignorant governments along with so many in the green and protection movements that becry the annual hazard reductions of years gone by, where there was a lot of the wooded terrains burnt off in systematic ways that prevented the wild fires that we are seeing at the moment.

    We used to see the burn offs along railway lines around early spring inside the fencelines, made a huge difference in many areas, but those brigades were removed and contractors brought in when the government decided.

    We can neer stop droughts but we can take measures to have items in place that would help a huge amount, not the least a propossal that was put up back in the 60's with the big drought of that time repeated again in the drouht of the 80's and still later in other mini droughts, and that was to have desal plants at strategic locations along the coast, with pipelines to take the water from the coast over the range and to extend to each of the primary rivers inland.  It cost billions to put in a Natural gas pipeline from the Hunter Valley and another area through to Darwin for exporting to Asia, government subsidised at that, but the desal plants could have been built for a fraction of that cost, or what the subsidies cost.

    This drought will end, and could do from next year, usual times for the change is around the January long weekends, it will not help those that have suffered but there are people/leaders who just wring their hands, or someone else's for them in these terrible times. and gets up my nose.
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    Frank The Tank December 6, 2019 at 11:01pm

    Yeah..........especially as the majority of these fires have been deliberately lit.
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      John Eel > Frank The Tank December 7, 2019 at 8:15am

      Frank that has been the case for a long time. There is no consequences handed out to the Arsonists by the judiciary. These crimes are generally committed by juveniles 

      Many of these people are serial offenders. It is also a fact that many of these arsonists go on to commit further serious crimes including serial killings 
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        colin hussey > John Eel December 7, 2019 at 9:59am

        One of the worrying areas in this arsonist aspect is the amount of people who have signed up an done their Volounter fire training, accepted into the services and end up lighting fires and rush away, and wait for the call out. There has been more than a few of those caught over the past years.

        Other aspects as well is that several of the fires have been lit by minors who have taken matches to deliberately light them.

        What sort of penalty/punishment should be metted out to them?  Jail them and its simply a cost on the state to keep them, should their assets be removed, but what affect does that have on their own families who are put out of their homes as not fault of their own?

        Our legal systems need to be reworked to ensure the punishments fit the crimes, but the other aspect is that governments need to stop fiddling while the country burns, as they all try to point score against each other, the political leaders get up, especially the ones who are the governments leader, making speaches that sound so soothing and sincere, at every event be it fires or other issues, and once out of camera rangers, back to their real selves.

        As such governments need to be held accountable for their inactions over so many areas of neglect over the years.
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            colin hussey > John Eel December 7, 2019 at 10:20am

            Tad, that is my whole point with the spin doctors who are so called leaders, but leaders of what?

            As for the lighting of fires, the kids doing dumb and stupid things are real, but as they grow up, or should I say get older and not grow up, unless they receive some form of punishment to make them realise the enormity of what they have done, like the teenagers who decided to have a fireworks display out near Cecil Park in the past week when a total fire ban was in place, and started fires there.

            Children need to be sensibly educated as to the dangers, surelly the aspect of seeing an orange sun and sky should be something pointed out to them, as to the reasons and told in the classrooms of the damage thats been done, and the hurt to our native flora and fauna, that is part of education these days and not having game pads and thumbs machine or dare I suggest Dumbs machines in classes.
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                colin hussey > John Eel December 7, 2019 at 10:47am

                Tad, problem is that outside of the fact and truth that you say is that there is always going to be stupid kids, and adults, there is a real need for leaders to not be the examples as they show a heck of a lot of stupidity in lighting other types of fires.

                If you look at the education for them, it also needs to be started and shown to the parents as well, many of whom are not the type of examples for their own children and their friends.  You cannot legislate against stupity, nore can you educate a vast number of them. Sadly I have lived in areas where that applies, as the parents will not take responsibility for what both they and their children do.

                I could give some very good close to the bone examples but will keep them out of this debate.
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                    John Eel > John Eel December 7, 2019 at 11:43am

                    Colin as you know I live at The Entrance. Recently we had a fire in one of the shopping arcades in the Main Street. 

                    The sole resident in the building was an artist who had lived in the area for more than 30 years. When the fire began he rang emergency services.

                    As the fire got worse he realised he was trapped and decided to escape through the window. He then realised that his exit was blocked by security bars and he was unable to get out and perished in the blaze.

                    The police have not made a statement yet and are unlikely to. Rumour has it that the fire was started downstairs by kids in the arcade. The oldest of these kids is believed to be about 14 

                    The traders in the building have also lost their livelihood as well 
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                    Mitchy > John Eel December 7, 2019 at 12:13pm

                    John I know exactlty what you are talking about here. Not much has happended has it? I know that arcade well. We live on the other side of Bateau Bay shops. That area you mentioned is not far from the police station as well. We visit that movie theatre at times.

                    Don't forget that pub on the other side has a history too.

                     
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                    John Eel > Mitchy December 7, 2019 at 12:22pm

                    Mitchy the reason that I say the police are unlikely to come out in this case and make a statement is because of the likelihood that juveniles are involved 
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                    Mitchy > John Eel December 7, 2019 at 12:37pm

                    Nothing would surprise me John. Nothing.