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Australian PM: arsonists are mass murderers
Ellen Widdup13 Feb 2009
Arsonists suspected of starting some of the 400 bush fires which swept across parts of Australia were today labelled “mass murderers”.
Prime minister Kevin Rudd, who has suspended federal parliament and is touring the devastated state of Victoria, said fears that the worst wildfires ever to strike the country were deliberately started had prompted a full-scale inquiry
“What can you say? What can you say?” he said. “There are no words to describe it other than mass murder. It is a level of horror few of us had anticipated.”
Two people were charged last night with arson as officials predicted the death toll might exceed 230.
Fire investigators are still sifting through the ash and rubble of the charred landscape. Relatives of the missing have been warned it could be days before bodies are identified because the remains are so badly burnt. Police have declared more than half of the state a crime scene and called in forensic specialists to try to discover how the disaster started.
Keiran Walshe, Victoria's deputy police commissioner, said finding the culprits would be difficult, but not impossible. “There's always something that will tell us where the ignition point was and what was used to ignite it,” he said. “Then we can start to piece together who could have done it.”
He said offenders could be charged with arson causing death, a crime that carries a 25-year prison sentence.
Victoria's premier John Brumby today promised there will be a Royal Commission to investigate every aspect of this “hell on earth” so they could learn from the tragedy.
One of the key issues to be considered by the inquiry will be Victoria's decades-old “stay and defend or leave early” bush fire policy. “What broke over the state was like a tsunami,” he said. “It didn't matter how good people's fire plans were. “When the wind changed there was nothing that anybody could have done.
“This will now be remembered as one of the darkest days in Australia's peacetime history. A tragedy beyond belief, beyond precedent and really beyond words.”
The fires started on Saturday, the hottest day recorded in Melbourne, Victoria's capital, where temperatures hit 46.4C (115.5F). The flames were fanned by gales and burnt through more than 1,000 square miles.
Hundreds of survivors have gathered in relief centres where food, clothing and counselling is being provided by charities and volunteers.
One man, Sam Gents, appealed for help tracing his wife and daughters on national television. He said he had been prevented from reaching the property where his family had been staying because the roads were too dangerous.
“I was talking to my wife on the phone but then she had to go because she said it had got bad and they were blocked in by the fire,” he said. “The last time anyone saw them the kids were running in the house. Now all the houses are gone so I just hope they got out.”
Fourteen fires are still burning out of control across the state, with a blaze near Beechworth in the north causing the most concern. Despite cooler temperatures, authorities have warned that firemen only have until the end of the week to control the fires before the temperatures begin to rise again.
Reader views (5)
This is a tragedy and a crime - no argument. BUT. Australians (I am one, btw) should consider all of the following.
Whether these fires were lit by humans or by a lightning strike is beside the point. Where else in the world can a spark kill 230+ people? It's like living on the Hindenburg. What did these people expect, that they would be immune from a big - and inevitable - fire? It is like choosing to live on a flood plain, or an active volcano. No-one deserves to die, or suffer, or lose their possesions. But if you live in an unsustainable place or manner, some or all of those scenarios WILL happen.
Also. The planet is getting hotter, and with record temperatures every summer, these fires will happen more frequently, and almost certainly with greater severity. Australia is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gasses in the world, per head of population. Since it is also amoung the most affected by the consequences of global warming, can we please have a discussion about reducing those emissions? Clearly, there are few countries who would benefit more from reduced warming, or who are better placed, motivated or wealthy enough to take a lead on this issue.
My sincere sympathies to those affected, I really mean that as a fellow Australian. But we are wasting our breath talking about this or that arsonist. We have to take steps to reduce the chances of this happening again. The way we are going, it will happen again, and worse.
Charlie / London.
- Charlie, London, 03/04/2009 21:03
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Very unforgiving place Australia. Apart from cyclones, storms, fire and flood, we have an endless list of things that just wanna kill ya. But we love it.
Stay strong Victoria, we're with you.
We have rain in Sydney right now and it's moving south.
- Ray, Sydney, 10/02/2009 06:57
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I wish that I could physically be there to help you or just to give you a hug. I lost everything 2 years ago including the man I adored, don't give up you will find strength you didn't know you had this is what I wish for you all.
- Jude Gerrard Carreno, prestatyn, north wales uk, 09/02/2009 21:38
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Our prayers and thoughts are with you all.
P x
- Paul, Bromley, 09/02/2009 18:14
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The two people caught (31 year old male & 14 year old male) were charged in connection with the N.S.W bushfires. No arsonists have been located in relation to the bushfires in Victoria.
The death toll number is solely that of Victoria's, it does not include N.S.W and has just shot up to 171.
- Felicia, Victoria, Australia, 09/02/2009 14:40
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