Coronial inquiry to give clarity on St Ivan bushfire

One year on from the devastating Sir Ivan Bushfire, NSW Farmers’ Association is hoping a Coronial General Inquiry will provide clarity to the local farming community around the challenges in communication, negotiation and engagement that played a part in the blaze.

It is 12 months since the fire tore through 55 thousand hectares of farming land in the Dunedoo, Cassilis and Coolah communities killing around six thousand head of livestock, destroying 35 homes, along with machinery, sheds, farm equipment and thousands of kilometers in fencing.

After strong campaigning by the Association for a Coronial General Inquiry, NSW Farmers has been notified by the Coroner’s Court that a General Inquiry will go ahead.

NSW Farmers’ spokesperson Will Arnott said he hopes the inquiry will help all those affected get the closure they need.

“The blaze took away the livelihoods of a number of farmers and had a dreadful effect on the communities that were affected.

“Fortunately no lives were lost but it caused a lot of angst for a lot of people and it was made worse by reports of inadequate communication between the Rural Fire Service leadership team and those that were on the ground.”

One year on from the blaze and communities are still rebuilding.

In December, almost one million dollars in donations were raised for victims in the Sir Ivan Bushfire Appeal, a joint initiative of the NSW Farmers’ Merriwa Branch and the Merriwa Show Society.