h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yes, asbestos is emerging as the main danger. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/21/2522565.htm

Meanwhile I've been replanting my garden, removing the hardy shrubs that were killed by the unusually hot weather last month. It was indeed a hell of a summer. I hope we won't have another one like this, but I suspect this might be the new normality.

I've just read through this entire thread in one sitting, and it's left me rather drained. For some reason, it was post 220 which really got me.

TRiG.

Ivan, I don't think we can say what the weather is going to throw at us any more. I think we have to be prepared for anything

~~~~~~~~~~

Trig, that was a marathon read but I would like to thank Ivan for giving us a blow by blow account and the links to go with it. It is always good to hear a local viewpoint that isn't slanted towards a handy 'soundbite' or over dramatised, not that I think anyone could over dramatise events like these, they are just so awful.

The post you referred to showed that a good side emerges along with the bad.

Websailor

Hi TRiG. Welcome.

Post 220 was quite a brute to write, too, but I'm glad I had somewhere to put all that information. Better on the screen than stuck in my head, I expect.

Hey Ivan: thank you for the constant updates I know it's been a hard thread to read, so must have been tough to write.


Fb

Hi Fb. It was better for me to write it all down, rather than just stew on it privately. It helped me deal with some of the unresolved residue from 2003, too.

In other news of interest to you - Anna Bligh's won the Queensland election, breaking with the family tradition of being rebelled against.

[For those of you wondering what I'm talking about - the Premier of Queensland is a direct descendant of 'Mutiny on the Bounty' Bligh, who went on to be Governor of New South Wales and win the distinction of being the (deserved) victim of the only coup d'etat in Australian history. I think there's a Guide entry on him somewhere.]

Yeah, I heard about Anna this morning on Radio NZ, where they announced that she is the new Governor of Qld Getting her confused with her ancestor me-thinks?

I wonder if she gets seasick?



At this point, I'd just like to note that there are no new items about the fires in the news today. I think that means that this saga has finally ended.

Thanks to all of you for keeping me company as events unfolded.

Thank you, for keeping us informed

As lil said - than you for keeping us informed.

B

ditto

Websailor

*bows*

Just caught up with the last two or so pages. Good to know where to find all the info, and having it all in one place, too. Thanks for that, Ivan.

I'm just listening to a report on the Royal Commission into these bushfires. The Victorian Government has given the Commissioner free rein to investigate anything he believes to be relevant. This is a departure from the usual situation, in which the terms of reference are closely defined and allow for little real exploration of events. Kudos to the Victorian Government for being so open to challenging findings.

Informal hearings started today - people in affected communities will be meeting the Commissioner in closed-door sessions, with no lawyers and no media present. This is a novel approach, but necessary, I feel. No weaselly arguments, no sensationalism, and privacy for the bereaved. Information tendered at these meetings won't be regarded as formal evidence, but will help the Commissioner to determine priorities. The Royal Commission proper will start sitting after Easter.

Ivan, it sounds as if they are determined to dissect every aspect of the disaster, to see what can be done better should something like it happen again, but with respect for the sensitivities of the bereaved. It will give the families and friends a chance to unburden themselves free from prying eyes.

Thank you,
Websailor

The Victorian Opposition has been loudly, stupidly objecting to the fact that people are to be given privacy in which to have their initial say. Clearly the Opposition are even more cretinous than I'd previously thought. I do hope they stay in opposition for a long, long time.

It's not 210 after all. The death toll has been revised downwards, to 173. This is rather odd, I admit.

This article contains the somewhat gothic tale behind the revision. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/30/2529765.htm

'In some instances some remains have been examined and found to belong to one person, when originally suspected to be two or more.' And there's more of that sort of thing in the article for those who want to know.

Quite apart from the mild feeling of nausea, I'm left thinking about all those idiots who complain that we're in some sort of 'Nanny State'. I'd argue that we're not, if the full resources of the State couldn't determine how many people were in the area, let alone who they are or were.



Meanwhile, at the end of the first month of Autumn, the bushfire season here in Canberra has been officially extended. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/30/2529921.htm Clearly I shouldn't relax just yet.

I must say I admire their diligence in trying to get a definitive figure in such awful circumstances. It must be very distressing to all concerned.

Thanks for keeping us in touch.

Websailor

Hi Folks...

.. Ivan is in w*rk just now and has emailed this link for me to place in here.

It is self-explanatory:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/16/2545047.htm

Bloody hell! Words fail me...