Bushfire litigation pushes ever further out

colourful sydney racing identity said :

If it is not about determining liability in order to get compensation then what is it all about?

I think it has numerous purposes. Accountability, transparency, a chance to improve the way government and others deal with things, a chance for a community or an individual to find answers. I guess in a way, I look at it as a private coronial inquest. But who knows – maybe I’m not being cynical enough about human motivation….

sexynotsmart said :

Madame Workalot said :

Stop being an armchair legal expert.

Not my words.

The fires were a freak event. The weather was terrible. I don’t think the community was liable for anyone’s losses. So yes, they should cease.

FYI my house almost went. We lost fences, a shed, pergola and shadecloth, cubbyhouses, swings and all the gardens. And I’m not party to this action.

The key words there are ‘I don’t think…’. That’s my point – just because you don’t think the community was liable, doesn’t mean everyone agrees with you. The whole point of the action is to determine if the government was liable. What would you prefer, in matters like this or the Katie Bender tragedy, the government just do a community survey to determine liability? The issue of liability is a question of law – that is why it is properly being dealt with in a court room.

And as for you not being part of the action, while I’m sure that’s worked out well for you it doesn’t give you any more or less authority to have an opinion on the topic. I’m sorry you lost so much, but I don’t really see how it’s relevant to the topic at hand.

Madame Workalot said :

Stop being an armchair legal expert.

Not my words.

The fires were a freak event. The weather was terrible. I don’t think the community was liable for anyone’s losses. So yes, they should cease.

FYI my house almost went. We lost fences, a shed, pergola and shadecloth, cubbyhouses, swings and all the gardens. And I’m not party to this action.

If it is not about determining liability in order to get compensation then what is it all about?

I don’t believe so – damages are a secondary matter that are determined only to make reparation for loss incurred as a result of liability.

Almost like the chicken and the egg argument 🙂

Madame Workalot said :

It’s not about insurance though, that’s the thing – it’s about determining if there was any fault on the part of the government, and whether the ACT and NSW government adequately met their duty of care to the citizens of Canberra. Damages has absolutely nothing to do with it at this stage – liability has got to be determined first.

Isn’t the whole point of determining liabilty to find out whether damages should be paid?

Wow, that hit a raw nerve.

Not a raw nerve, I just think that the government must have something to answer for if it’s come this far. Personally, I also think it’s a bit rich thinking people were somehow inadequate and that’s why they lost houses/got injured etc, but let’s not go there 🙂

colourful sydney racing identity said :

surely if they were not adequately insured it is their own fault?

It’s not about insurance though, that’s the thing – it’s about determining if there was any fault on the part of the government, and whether the ACT and NSW government adequately met their duty of care to the citizens of Canberra. Damages has absolutely nothing to do with it at this stage – liability has got to be determined first.

surely if they were not adequately insured it is their own fault?

I got sunburn during the summer of 1999. Also I hit my thumb with a hammer during the 2004 election campaign. Now can I join this lawyer’s picnic?

Seven years before the case gets before a judge is not a particularly long time in civil litigation Thumper….

So, you know for a fact that every single one of those plaintiffs involved were ‘inadequate’ in some way, which led to their loss? Get over yourself.

Sexynotsmart – So just because you don’t agree with their action, they should cease?

The whole point of the action is to determine if either government was liable for losses during that period. If you had lost what some people lost during the fires, you’d be looking for answers too. And as for your comment about injustice in the world – if the plaintiffs are successful, is that not an injustice?

Perhaps the community should do the right thing by the litigants and support them in trying to close the final chapter in this horrific saga.

Stop being an armchair legal expert.