Fire costings sought by oppn

The Victorian opposition has called on the government to release detailed costings of its $867 million bushfires royal commission response package.

Opposition bushfire response spokesman Peter Ryan has written to the government seeking an urgent briefing to release all economic modelling and data that support each bushfire initiative.

'So far all Victorians have seen from Labor is dodgy figures that are wildly exaggerated and which change from day to day,' Mr Ryan said in a statement on Thursday.

'We also want to see the financial analysis behind (Victorian premier) John Brumby's decision not to upgrade power lines and his rejection of the recommendation for voluntary buybacks of properties in high fire-risk areas.'

In its official response to the royal commission last week, the government announced it would implement 60 of the 67 recommendations and said it supported, in principle or in part, six more.

As part of the response, the government committed $867 million to the reforms. 

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ANL

Rumor has it that ANL are still persisting with VCAT action.

Can anyone fill in the details?

COLDSTREAM 2020

Coldstream   2020

A new group has been formed to look at the future of Coldstream.    We have named this group     Coldstream 2020.

Stay tuned for updates!

Coldstream Had A WET Winter!

Facts n Figures!
Averages\Extremes for the month of August 2010

Average temperature     = 8.4°C

 Average humidity        = 81%

 Average dewpoint        = 5.2°C

 Average barometer       = 1013.9 hPa

 Average windspeed       = 3.3 km/h

 Average gustspeed       = 6.0 km/h

 Average direction       = 340° (NNW)

 Rainfall for month      = 130.4 mm

 Average Rainfall Aug    = 73 mm

 Rainfall for year       = 577.8 mm

 Maximum rain per minute = 6.0 mm on day 22 at time 12:00

 Maximum temperature     = 16.5°C on day 30 at time 15:20

 Minimum temperature     = -0.6°C on day 06 at time 06:16

 Maximum humidity        = 98% on day 10 at time 04:50

 Minimum humidity        = 45% on day 22 at time 15:10

 Maximum dewpoint        = 10.5°C on day 15 at time 16:44

 Minimum dewpoint        = -1.4°C on day 31 at time 7:01

 Maximum pressure        = 1029.4 hPa on day 29 at time 10:07

 Minimum pressure        = 996.9 hPa on day 11 at time 17:12

 Maximum windspeed       = 24.1 kmh from 360°( N ) on day 14 at time 10:28

 Maximum gust speed      = 44.4 km/h from 293°(WNW) on day 16 at time 11:08

 Maximum heat index      = 16.5°C on day 30 at time 15:20

 Avg daily max temp :12.6°C

 Avg daily min temp :4.7°C

 Frost days= 1

Daily rain totals

 -----------------------------------

  22.2 mm  on day 1

  00.4 mm  on day 2

  07.0 mm  on day 4

  05.0 mm  on day 5

  01.8 mm  on day 9

  06.0 mm  on day 10

  26.4 mm  on day 11

  09.2 mm  on day 12

  12.2 mm  on day 15

  02.0 mm  on day 16

  04.6 mm  on day 19

  01.8 mm  on day 20

  01.6 mm  on day 21

  01.4 mm  on day 23

  09.4 mm  on day 24

  00.4 mm  on day 25

  06.4 mm  on day 26

  01.4 mm  on day 27

  00.4 mm  on day 28

  11.0 mm  on day 31

Thanks to Robert for the Stats.

Brumby crumbles to demands for Fire Service Levy changes

Member for Swan Hill, Peter Walsh, has welcomed the decision by the Brumby Government to finally accept a major recommendation from the Bushfire Royal Commission to introduce a much fairer system of funding Victoria’s fire services.

“The Coalition has been advocating an equitable system of funding the fire and emergency services but Premier Brumby has long been in denial,” Mr Walsh said.

“The catalyst for his about-face has been the Bushfires Royal Commission and the upcoming State election.

“The Bushfire Royal Commission’s major recommendation to drop the Fire Services Levy on insurance policies on property and replace it with a charge on all property, with a concession for low-income earners, is a far more equitable system.

“The new system will be much fairer and echoes the long standing call by the Coalition, the Insurance industry, farming and other business groups,” he said.

“Premier Brumby has continually rejected this call stating that the current model was the best way to fund Victoria’s fire services even to the extent of stating in the Parliament in August 2009 that the Coalition policy for a property based levy was a poll tax, and he thought it was a disgraceful policy.

“The new model will replace the inequitable existing one where country businesses find that for every $100 of their insurance premium, they pay an additional $123 for the fire services levy, GST and stamp duty, more than doubling the cost of their insurance.

“This about-face is just another example of John Brumby adopting sensible Coalition Policy and demonstrates the disarray of the Labor Government and its own lack of real policy,” Mr Walsh said.

Media contact: Peter Walsh (03) 5032 3154