- Joined
- Sep 22, 2008
- Messages
- 233
- Points
- 18
This time Termasek GIC will kanna CLONG jialat at Auzzie Kangaroo Court! Will become ATM for the Auzzie to CLONG $$$$!
<hr>
Singapore Power face Victorial Bush Fire Class Action
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/...ver-bushfires/
Power firm faces class action over bushfires
ABC - February 15, 2009, 8:28 am
A class action has been issued against a private electricity company in the wake of Victoria's deadly bushfires.
The Age newspaper today reports Slidders Lawyers is launching the class action against Singapore-based firm SP Ausnet, which is responsible for maintaining most of the power lines in eastern Victoria.
It is believed the case centres on a fallen power line in Kilmore East that may have started the Kinglake fire, which killed 100 people.
The Age also reports the Phoenix task force has removed a length of the fallen power line and a pole as evidence.
The lawsuit is expected to cover thousands of farmers, small business owners, tourist operators and residents who lost their homes.
The action will cover this year's fires, as well as blazes in 2003, 2006 and 2007.
However, The Age reports the utility company's liability will be capped at $100 million, under a deal struck by the Kennett government when state firms were privatised in 1995.
Slidders Lawyers has called on people affected by the fires to detail their losses on the firm's website, saying they may be entitled to compensation.
It is believed other law firms are also considering class actions.
'Residents saw sparks'
Meanwhile, the Federal Member for McEwan, Fran Bailey, says local authorities have told her a fallen powerline was creating sparks last Saturday.
Ms Bailey, who represents some of the areas worst affected by bushfires in Victoria, has told ABC1's Insiders program regional power networks need to be upgraded.
"The local CFA [Country Fire Authority] told me on that Saturday, with those very high winds, one of the lines had broken and was whipping against the ground and sparked," she said.
"Whether or not that is the cause of that terrible fire that actually took out Kinglake and maybe Marysville, the investigations will prove that, but we've got to do better."
Louisa Graham from SP Ausnet says the firm will assist the relevant authorities with their inquiries.
<hr>
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/...ires-launched/
Class action into Vic fires launched
February 15, 2009, 11:47 am
Power supplier SP Ausnet says it will cooperate fully with any investigations into the cause of a Victorian bushfire that killed about 100 people and left more than a thousand homeless.
Angry Kinglake residents are launching a class action in the Victorian Supreme Court against SP Ausnet and the state government, arguing a two-kilometre stretch of downed power lines sparked and set fire to a nearby pine forest.
"We stand ready to assist the relevant authorities with their inquiries if it is necessary for us to do so now and in the coming months," SP Ausnet spokeswoman Louisa Graham said in a statement.
She said the company's priority was restoring power to fire-affected areas as soon as possible.
Victorian federal MP Fran Bailey said the Country Fire Authority (CFA) had told her one of the power lines had broken before the fire.
"It was whipping against the ground and sparked," she said.
"We've got to do better, deliver our power better."
At least 100 people have been killed and more than 1,000 left homeless as a result of fires in Kinglake and surrounding areas.
Victorian Premier John Brumby refused to comment on the power line claim, saying it would be examined as part of the Royal Commission into the bushfires.
"No stone will be left unturned. So, I think it's important the Royal Commission does its work. And, the Royal Commission will, of course, look at all of the factors with the fires," Mr Brumby told reporters on Sunday.
The Phoenix Taskforce, which is investigating the fires, is examining a two-kilometre stretch of power line that collapsed last Saturday during the extreme heat, The Sunday Age newspaper reports.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon said authorities were still determining how the Kinglake bushfire started.
"At this stage we are not able to confirm how it started. I understand there is some legal action that people are taking, but at this stage we're still investigating its cause," Ms Nixon told the Nine Network.
<hr>
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/...-bushfires-mp/
Power lines causing bushfires: MP
February 10, 2009, 9:05 pm
A Nationals MP has pleaded for power poles to be bushfire-proofed.
John Forrest told parliament on Tuesday the fire at Horsham in western Victoria was caused by a faulty power pole and not, as first thought, by arson.
One person was injured and eight homes, an industrial centre and the Horsham Golf Club were destroyed in the fire.
Mr Forrest, an engineer, said that when he was a child a helicopter occasionally flew over power lines and de-dusted the transmission line insulators by spraying saline or silicone.
"In a faulty insulator an arc can form and, when it has a wooden cross arm, it feeds a fire," he said.
"The sparks fall to the ground. Time and time again this has been identified as a source of these terrible fires."
Mr Forrest said power authorities had to be helped to replace the wooden cross arms with steel.
"It is a readily available engineering solution," he said.
"Sure, there is a cost involved, but we need to find the resources to achieve that."
<hr>
Singapore Power face Victorial Bush Fire Class Action
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/...ver-bushfires/
Power firm faces class action over bushfires
ABC - February 15, 2009, 8:28 am
A class action has been issued against a private electricity company in the wake of Victoria's deadly bushfires.
The Age newspaper today reports Slidders Lawyers is launching the class action against Singapore-based firm SP Ausnet, which is responsible for maintaining most of the power lines in eastern Victoria.
It is believed the case centres on a fallen power line in Kilmore East that may have started the Kinglake fire, which killed 100 people.
The Age also reports the Phoenix task force has removed a length of the fallen power line and a pole as evidence.
The lawsuit is expected to cover thousands of farmers, small business owners, tourist operators and residents who lost their homes.
The action will cover this year's fires, as well as blazes in 2003, 2006 and 2007.
However, The Age reports the utility company's liability will be capped at $100 million, under a deal struck by the Kennett government when state firms were privatised in 1995.
Slidders Lawyers has called on people affected by the fires to detail their losses on the firm's website, saying they may be entitled to compensation.
It is believed other law firms are also considering class actions.
'Residents saw sparks'
Meanwhile, the Federal Member for McEwan, Fran Bailey, says local authorities have told her a fallen powerline was creating sparks last Saturday.
Ms Bailey, who represents some of the areas worst affected by bushfires in Victoria, has told ABC1's Insiders program regional power networks need to be upgraded.
"The local CFA [Country Fire Authority] told me on that Saturday, with those very high winds, one of the lines had broken and was whipping against the ground and sparked," she said.
"Whether or not that is the cause of that terrible fire that actually took out Kinglake and maybe Marysville, the investigations will prove that, but we've got to do better."
Louisa Graham from SP Ausnet says the firm will assist the relevant authorities with their inquiries.
<hr>
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/...ires-launched/
Class action into Vic fires launched
February 15, 2009, 11:47 am
Power supplier SP Ausnet says it will cooperate fully with any investigations into the cause of a Victorian bushfire that killed about 100 people and left more than a thousand homeless.
Angry Kinglake residents are launching a class action in the Victorian Supreme Court against SP Ausnet and the state government, arguing a two-kilometre stretch of downed power lines sparked and set fire to a nearby pine forest.
"We stand ready to assist the relevant authorities with their inquiries if it is necessary for us to do so now and in the coming months," SP Ausnet spokeswoman Louisa Graham said in a statement.
She said the company's priority was restoring power to fire-affected areas as soon as possible.
Victorian federal MP Fran Bailey said the Country Fire Authority (CFA) had told her one of the power lines had broken before the fire.
"It was whipping against the ground and sparked," she said.
"We've got to do better, deliver our power better."
At least 100 people have been killed and more than 1,000 left homeless as a result of fires in Kinglake and surrounding areas.
Victorian Premier John Brumby refused to comment on the power line claim, saying it would be examined as part of the Royal Commission into the bushfires.
"No stone will be left unturned. So, I think it's important the Royal Commission does its work. And, the Royal Commission will, of course, look at all of the factors with the fires," Mr Brumby told reporters on Sunday.
The Phoenix Taskforce, which is investigating the fires, is examining a two-kilometre stretch of power line that collapsed last Saturday during the extreme heat, The Sunday Age newspaper reports.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon said authorities were still determining how the Kinglake bushfire started.
"At this stage we are not able to confirm how it started. I understand there is some legal action that people are taking, but at this stage we're still investigating its cause," Ms Nixon told the Nine Network.
<hr>
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/...-bushfires-mp/
Power lines causing bushfires: MP
February 10, 2009, 9:05 pm
A Nationals MP has pleaded for power poles to be bushfire-proofed.
John Forrest told parliament on Tuesday the fire at Horsham in western Victoria was caused by a faulty power pole and not, as first thought, by arson.
One person was injured and eight homes, an industrial centre and the Horsham Golf Club were destroyed in the fire.
Mr Forrest, an engineer, said that when he was a child a helicopter occasionally flew over power lines and de-dusted the transmission line insulators by spraying saline or silicone.
"In a faulty insulator an arc can form and, when it has a wooden cross arm, it feeds a fire," he said.
"The sparks fall to the ground. Time and time again this has been identified as a source of these terrible fires."
Mr Forrest said power authorities had to be helped to replace the wooden cross arms with steel.
"It is a readily available engineering solution," he said.
"Sure, there is a cost involved, but we need to find the resources to achieve that."
