Liberal leader faces backlash from firefighters over 2003 bushfire claims
Liberal leader Angus Taylor has been accused of giving rural firefighters a “kick in the gut” after claiming authorities deliberately allowed the devastating Snowy Mountains bushfires of 2003 to burn because they were in a wilderness area.
Speaking from the back of a lorry during a protest against plans to cull wild game near Kiandra earlier this month, Taylor criticized government bureaucrats and national park managers, arguing that local communities had lost control over land management.
The comments infuriated firefighters who battled for weeks to contain the devastating blaze two decades ago; A senior figure is now demanding that Taylor apologize.
Recalling the fires in 2003, Taylor said that authorities refused to extinguish the fires that started in Kosciuszko National Park because they “believed in wild nature.” The text of his comments was not released by his office.
“They said we wouldn’t put them out because we believe in wildlife,” Taylor told the crowd, according to a video posted on social media. “We left and saw the most devastating fire we have ever seen come from this country.”
The 2003 Alpine bushfires were among Australia’s worst natural disasters; Approximately 1.73 million hectares burned in NSW, Victoria and the ACT; More than 140 fires were sparked by dry lightning during a prolonged drought that was followed by repeatedly rising temperatures, strong winds and low humidity. The fires culminated in the Canberra bushfires on January 18, in which four people died and more than 500 homes were destroyed.
A subsequent criminal investigation in NSW found there was no evidence to show that professional and volunteer firefighters had failed to do their best to protect life and property. An investigation into the ACT fires by Commonwealth Ombudsman Ron McLeod found the fire could have been brought under control if it had been attacked more aggressively.
Former NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service incident controller David Darlington, who was responsible for overseeing the fight against the 2003 fires, said he was “surprised” Taylor had made comments clearly designed to discredit the organisation.
Darlington, who lives in Jindabyne, told the outlet: “By doing this he has taken away from the massive firefighting effort of over 1,000 firefighters, many of whom are volunteers doing the best they can.”
Darlington wrote a letter to Taylor on June 21, demanding that he correct the record because the comments implied that firefighters were deliberately standing there as the fires spread. Darlington said he received no response.
In the letter seen in this byline, Darlington said Taylor’s statement was “not true” and ignored the realities facing emergency crews during one of the worst wildfire campaigns in the state.
“I care about the people I worked with on these fires,” he wrote. “Those who heard or read the text of your remarks are outraged that you implied that they allowed these fires to burn. This was a real blow to the guts of firefighters.”
More than 1,000 personnel from the state’s four fire departments and support agencies have been deployed to control the fires and protect lives and property, Darlington said.
The fires destroyed 19 historic high country lodges because the national park “doesn’t understand the history and heritage of these great mountains,” Taylor said, before tying the issue to the ongoing debate over the future of the wild horse population in the park.
“I want to see the locals regain control,” he said, adding that authorities were “importing ideology from the West Coast of the United States.”
Darlington said that in early January 2003, more than 40 fires broke out in the Australian Alps due to dry lightning, and extinguishing efforts began immediately.
“Due to the fact that most of these fires were in wild areas, at no stage were these fires allowed to burn,” he wrote. “Rather, fire behavior, identified risks and the practical reality around both aerial and land sources meant that some fires would eventually coalesce.”
Darlington, who now serves as a volunteer after retiring from professional firefighters, said firefighters “don’t forget when inaccurate statements are made about their efforts” and said Taylor owes an apology to those involved.
Taylor’s office has been contacted for comment.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up for our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
Rob Harris is a national correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Canberra. He is a former European correspondent.Connect via email.
