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$200K fine for AusNet leaves...
Fire-risk disgust By Gabriella Vukman
On her walk around frosty Emerald Lake Park, photographer Tracy Dasler captured the glistening sun as it shone through the trees. (Supplied)
Shivering start to July July started with a number of icy mornings and while some stayed indoors, others braved the chilly temperatures to witness the wintery beauty across the region. Hills photographer Tracy Dasler was one of these residents who didn’t shy away from her typical morning walk around Emerald Lake Park. Camera in hand and at the ready, she
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took this photo as the warm light from the rising sun began to touch the tops of the trees. Despite the glow, Ms Dasler said it was deceiving, as nearly everything was frozen around her. See inside for more photos of the wintery weather that stretched from Woori Yallock to Emerald and Lilydale.
A Hills resident is fuming at Australian energy provider AusNet for the installation of an uninsulated, high-voltage powerline in Selby State Forest. The area of installation marks one of the State’s highest bushfire risk areas, putting thousands of residents in danger. Selby resident Margaret worries that the $200,000 AusNet must cough up due to their negligence is not nearly enough. “My personal thing is, and it’s too late now because it has all gone through the Supreme Court, but if they had to pay damages of a lowly $200,000 which is nothing for them, surely some of that money should have been punitive damages and surely it should have come to our local CFAs up here in the Dandenongs,” she said. “When I saw what they did to us, I realised they left us exposed in the Selby bushland area all through the summer off 22-23 and then when they found out, it took them 47 days to rectify it. We are so lucky it was a cool summer.” “There’s nothing we can do about it but it’s just horrible that AusNet and the like get away with this.” Margaret discovered AusNet’s illegal activity by chance when she happened to google the electricity distributor’s website. Informing residents straight away through a Selby community Facebook group, Margaret
was astonished that her local CFA had no idea about the installation. “I found out on Friday night and I alerted our Selby community page on Facebook and from the responses I’ve had, people are furious. They left us so exposed and we just didn’t know about it,” Margaret said. “For AusNet to go and stuff up like they did and put us at risk, it’s just like being hit in the face. It is really awful,” she said. “I thought surely the CFA should know about it but they had no clue.” Expressing concern about the lack of information for the citizens of Selby and surrounding areas, Margaret said “we’re furious. We try to do everything we can to protect ourselves.” “It’s really how these things are swept under the carpet and we don’t hear about them,” Margaret said. “A risk like that and then we still don’t get to hear anything about it until the report comes out at the end. It’s infuriating. I feel so sorry for all those CFA guys. What if something had happened this summer?” After constructing a 34-metre stretch of bare powerline along the heavily shrubbed Bushland Reserve in Selby just over two years ago, the electricity distributor was sued by Energy Safe Victoria for disobeying energy laws. AusNet was in further trouble for failing to act on their illegal powerline placement, taking 47 days to correct the issue after it was discovered. Continued page 3
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