Mike Morant and Julia Holmes work on their Kinglake home. Picture: Aaron Francis Survivors support town refuges
Gary Hughes THE Black Saturday bushfires royal commission has been scathingly critical of Victoria's fire services and of CFA chief Russell Rees.
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Building code 'no promise of safety'
Gary Hughes AUSTRALIA'S national building code for constructing houses in bushfire-prone areas could only minimise the risk of people being killed o...
Building code put people at fire risk
Gary Hughes | 2:20pm SHORTFALLS in the new national building code for new houses in bushfire prone areas may have left occupants potentially at risk.
Council protected bushfire 'hazard'
Gary Hughes RESIDENTS in one of the areas devastated on Black Saturday were not allowed to clear highly flammable, noxious tea tree on their land be...
Bunker builders spread like wildfire
Stuart Rintoul SINCE the devastating February bushfires in Victoria, bunker builders have begun to proliferate, each of them offering their own brand o...
Bushfires building handbook delayed
Gary Hughes A HANDBOOK vital in ensuring the effectiveness of a new national building standard will not be available until the end of the year.
Delay to increase fire risk
Gary Hughes A DELAY of at least six months in introducing safety standards and regulations covering the construction of backyard bushfire bunkers wi...
Warning over 'risky' bushfire bunkers
Gary Hughes A LACK of appropriate standards and regulations for backyard bushfire bunkers are allowing unsafe products on to the market.
Tourist towns on bushfire risk list
Rick Wallace, Victorian political reporter SOME of Victoria's most popular holiday spots and several heavily treed Melbourne suburbs have been placed on a list of the state's 52 m...
Life in fire zone scarier each year
Stuart Rintoul INGRID Van Der Molen has lived in a mudbrick cottage surrounded by trees near the picturesque Victorian town of Woodend for the past 21 ...
Holiday towns among bushfire hot spots
Rick Wallace, Victorian political reporter SOME of Victoria's most popular holiday spots have been placed on a list of the state's 52 most vulnerable bushfire town.
52 Victorian towns in the line of fire
Agencies VICTORIAN authorities have identified more than 50 fire hot spots in danger of erupting in bushfires this summer.
No one will take the blame
BLACK Saturday left 173 people dead. Scores more suffered serious burns. More than 2000 homes were destroyed. Communities such as Strath...
Chiefs in 'failure' to warn
IN a scathing post-mortem on the handling of Black Saturday's most deadly blaze, the royal commission has identified a series of worryin...
Survivors support town refuges as a third option
MIKE Morant is perched on the scaffolding of his new home in Kinglake, which bore the brunt of Victoria's horrific fires on February 7.
In the line of fire
FOR the families of the 173 victims of the Black Saturday bushfires there is little solace to be found in the 360-page interim report by...
CFA's bushfires bungling revealed
Rick Wallace, Victorian political reporter ASTONISHING bungling at the top echelons of fire services have been laid bare by a Bushfire Royal Commission interim report.
CFA chief braces for report's advice
Rick Wallace, Victorian political reporter THE interim findings of the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission are expected to call for major changes in dealing with fires.
Bushfire family moves in to new home
EXACTLY six months after the Victorian bushfires left a Bendigo family homeless, they have collected the keys to their new home.
Sam the Black Saturday koala dies
SAM, the koala who became famous during Melbourne's Black Saturday bushfires, has died of chlamydia.
Telco gave warning on 000 faults
Drew Warne-Smith TELSTRA warned the Rudd government that Australia's antiquated triple-0 emergency call service needed to be overhauled six months before...
Hazard reduction now a burning issue
Gary Hughes COLIN Wood and his neighbours at One Tree Hill dodged a bullet on Black Saturday when a bushfire with the potential to "take out the Dan...
Chief 'essential' for next fire season
Gary Hughes EMBATTLED Victorian Country Fire Authority chief Russell Rees will keep his job, with the organisation claiming he and other senior offi...
Rein vows to help abused kids
Angus Hohenboken THERESE Rein has taken on the title of "Children's Champion", vowing to help protect the country's youth from child abuse and neglect.
Macklin sends start of $800m to states
Angus Hohenboken and Siobhain Ryan CANBERRA yesterday announced the first downpayment on its national homelessness pact with the states and territories, just hours after c...
Brumby told to reveal new fire policy
Gary Hughes THE Black Saturday royal commission today ordered the Brumby government to produce details of a newly announced bushfire policy.
Fight fires months before the flames
Cesar Melhem WITHOUT firefighters working year round, there could well be another Black Saturday next season.
CFA bushfire criticism 'not justified'
Gary Hughes CRITICSM of the head of Victoria¿s Country Fire Authority were not justified on evidence so far presented, an inquiry has heard.
Change urged to 'stay or go' policy
Gary Hughes VICTORIA'S contentious "stay or go" bushfire policy must be urgently revised before the next fire season to highlight its dangers after ...
Brumby backs CFA chief
Rick Wallace and Gary Hughes THE Brumby Government has staunchly defended Country Fire Authority chief fire officer Russell Rees amid sustained criticism of him by l...
Bushfire inquiry urges CFA changes
Gary Hughes THE Black Saturday royal commission has been urged to recommended urgent changes in the way Victoria's Country Fire Authority operates.
Manne on fire
Cameron Stewart THE author and academic has delivered a stinging critique of the policies that handcuffed fire authorities on Black Saturday.
Fire warning failed to appear on web
Gary Hughes A CRUCIAL bushfire warning to communities where more than 40 people later died on Black Saturday was "overlooked" and not posted on fire...
Only 20pc of bushfire calls answered
Gary Hughes EIGHT out of every 10 calls to Victoria's official bushfire information line on Black Saturday went unanswered.
Fireman recalls urgent warning
Gary Hughes and Tom Kelly A SENIOR firefighter has told how he desperately tried to have an urgent warning sent to communities in the Kinglake Ranges, where 121 p...
