rugged and mountainous regions than our pissant hills we call mountains. So the debate about safety etc. was little more than a furphy to cover up the lack of willingness by our authorities to change their outmoded mindset.
The current enquiry in Victoria has shown nothing much more than a deliberate effort to cover up or excuse the fire management procedures in existence last summer. That is not a criticism of the crews on the ground but of a management system that let everyone down from the fire fighters to the civilians.
Parts of the enquiry have been allowed to dissolve into territorial squabbles between the various fire fighting authorities; matters which have no relevance to preventing last summer's catastophe from occurring again. Frankly I would suggest that the public couldn't give a rat's arse about how the fire services are controlled or by whom - the only logical concern is that they do their job properly with all the best and latest technology.
The use of these large aircraft may well be unsuccessful but allowing timorous whatif scenarios to prevent trials is the height of stupidity given their demonstrated usefulness in far more mountainous and rugged conditions than we can muster.
We have had several summers in a row of bad bushfires and it seems we have taken too long to move into open enquiries and a willingness to trial all available technology. Instead as I said all that has happened is the airing of turf war grievances by the various appropriate authorities. The chap who lost his family and said yesterday at the enquiry that whoever it was or are reponsible for this poor management should be forced to take the blame and if necessary face appropriate legal proceedings. Hiding behind the "just following procedures" excuse went out with the Nuremberg trials.
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