Aussie fires: Residents to sue S'pore company
SYDNEY: - A Singapore-owned energy delivery company is facing a
class action suit over allegations that one of its power lines
sparked last week's deadly Australian bush fires which broke out in
the Kinglake area of Victoria state.
Residents there are launching legal proceedings against SP
AusNet over a fallen power line which is believed to have started
the blaze.
SP AusNet is 51 per cent-owned by Singapore Power and listed on
both the Australian and Singapore stock exchanges.
The company said yesterday that it would cooperate fully with
any investigation into the cause of the fires.
'We stand ready to assist the relevant authorities with their
enquiries if it is necessary for us to do so now and in the coming
months,' said spokesman Louisa Graham.
The company's priority at the moment was to restore power to the
area as soon as possible, Ms Graham added.
Mr Daniel Oldham of Slidders Lawyers told the Melbourne Age
newspaper that the class action lawsuit would be 'made on the basis
of negligent management of power lines and infrastructure'.
The suit, which is understood to have been issued in Victoria's
Supreme Court on Friday, is expected to cover residents, businesses
and farmers who lost their homes in the disaster.
According to the 2006 census, Kinglake had a population of
almost 1,500 people.
Other law firms are believed to be considering similar
action.
The total cost of last week's devastating fires is believed to
be more than A$500
million (S$497 million).
But SP AusNet's legal liability has been capped at A$100 million under a deal previously
struck between the state government and private utility operators
during the privatisation of the power industry in 1995.
Victoria Police Commissioner Christine Nixon declined to comment
on the cause of the Kinglake fire, saying that investigators were
still trying to determine how it started.
She also refused to confirm reports that a power line and pole
had been taken away as evidence.
'We have taken a range of evidence and we will, obviously, be
working with fire authorities about what might have caused it,' she
said in a television interview.
'I understand that there is some legal action that people are
taking, but at this stage, we are still investigating its
cause.'
However, Ms Fran Bailey, a federal politician who lives in the
area, claimed that firemen had told her that one of the lines had
been broken in the high winds. She said the line whipped against
the ground and sparked.
SP AusNet is one of Australia's largest publicly-listed energy
delivery businesses, employing 1,300 people in its electricity and
gas network.
It serves 600,000 customers in Victoria over an area covering
more than 80,000 sq km.
On its website, the company declares it is 'committed to
continually improving our performance by investing in upgrades and
the maintenance of our networks'.
SP AusNet Finance Trust holds most of the debt of the SP AusNet
Group and provides financing.
SPI Management Services, which is a wholly-owned indirect
subsidiary of Singapore Power, provides core management services to
the Australian operation.
A week after the inferno, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday
returned to Victoria to attend a memorial service in honour of the
victims.
He paid tribute to volunteer firefighters and expressed his
confidence that the destroyed communities would rise again.
'As we move forward we intend and we resolve to be with you
every step of the way,' he said.
Church services were held all over Australia as the country
remembered those who died in the worst bush fires the nation has
ever suffered.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard pledged that the
government would enforce a national early warning system for
natural disasters.
It followed criticism that not enough had been done to alert
those caught up in the Victoria conflagration.
'We're bringing a spirit of determination to getting this done,'
she promised.
Survivors from Marysville, one of the worst-hit communities,
were able to return to their village for the first time over the
weekend.
As many as 100 of the population of 600 died and hardly a
building was left standing.
The residents set off in a convoy of coaches on the
understanding that they would not be allowed off the bus or to take
photographs when they got there.
When they finally arrived, many said it looked like a bomb had
been dropped on the area.
'It was worse than any war film I have ever seen,' said Ms Jenny
Pullen, who lost her home and four cottages which she rented out to
tourists.
'It was as black as black can be, blacker than ever I've seen
before, not even a blade of grass,' she added.
Victoria's death toll remained at 181 last night, but it is
expected to increase as emergency workers find more bodies.
