Apprehension mounts over RFS Commissioner Phil Koperberg's plans to enter NSW Parliament in March.

Preselected for Bob Debus's old seat of the Blue Mountains, people are asking if he is set to become Minister for Emergency Services.

Anything is possible with his industrial strength spot changing.

He jumped from the Liberal Party in 1997 to Labor, and surprisingly, now aligns with the hard left.
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Is Koperberg on a winner?

The seat was retained with a 14.8% margin in the last election.

If he wins what might we expect?

He has long dreamed of following the Victorian example to amalgamate the NSW Fire Brigades with the RFS and shed NSWFB retained staff.

There are glaring differences between the success rate of the NSWFB and the RFS:

*NSWFB about a 100% success rate using volunteers and retained staff on the urban bush interface in bushfires.

*RFS totally hopeless with volunteers in open revolt over retained staff's orders to abandon proven procedures that endanger everyone and everything.

There is also the glaring example of Victoria's out of control bushfires…

Except in areas where renegade bushmen like Kevin Higgins of Licola embarrassingly saved community after community, single handed with superbly executed backburns.

What will be next? Will city silvertails in leafy suburbs be at the tender mercies of Commissioner Koperberg's towering intellect?

Some Quotes Showing PK's Plans to Amalgamate and Change an Organisation that Works to an Organisation that Doesn't Work


"It would be fair to say that our fire fighters are now trained in the majority of cases to a standard commensurate with permanent, salaried fire fighters. In some cases, in excess of this." SMH October 9 2000 Fire chief hails new era of super volunteers.

"The Rural Fire Service is responsible for the whole of the suburb of Terrey Hills, as it is in some surrounding areas… The Rural Fire Service has a response time to structure house fires which is the equivalent, if not better in many circumstances, than the alternative can provide." Evidence to NSW Parliamentary Committee March 24 2000.

"Nor does it suggest, I might add, that jobs are going to be lost because the brigade members, which are being spoken of in this context, are retained fire fighters, that is they are essentially paid volunteers. You may well find that in the longer term, and possibly largely I suspect by attrition, that there will be a transfer of responsibility (from the NSWFB to the RFS)." ABC Radio October 8 1997.

"If we find that one of our voluntary brigades can better look after the fire protection of one of those towns without a permanent or retained brigade, then we will recommend to the government that this should happen." Sun-Herald October 19 1997.

Dr Christine Finlay
(phD Bushfire/Crisis Management)

Dishonourable Tony Abbott (pictured), Federal Minister for health, previously self appointed saviour of the nation by organising hundreds of thousands of dollars into a slush fund which ended up sending Pauline Hanson to jail because she dared to challenge the party system, keeps closing the door on a possible cure for cancer, once again expressing that ever present tunnel vision, or maybe corporate vision not wishing to upset their big bucks business mentors.

Now to me it seems strange when considering Dr. Holt, who is from WA, claims that he could train any doctor to apply his therapy in just a day and such a breakthrough is being put through the Abbott Federal Government shredder it would seem. Dr Holt, who is 80 years of age, has cured thousands of people of many forms of cancer with testimony to this, and closed his practice on June 30, 2005.

Now on the other side of the coin, a potential conflict of interest issue has emerged at Bionomics, the listed biotechnology company with boardroom links to federal government bodies that issue hundreds of millions of dollars of research grants.

Bionomics chief executive Deborah Rathjen sits on the Industry Research and Development (IR&D) board, which is responsible for issuing Commercial Ready research grants from the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources via the AusIndustry body.

Dr Rathjen was appointed chairwoman of the IR&D board's biological committee in November 2004. The committee recommends Australian biotechnology companies for Commercial Ready grants.

So the big bucks go to the favourite and the outsider with a track record in the cancer stakes is not under starters orders.

In a statement to the ASX last April announcing the grant, Dr Rathjen said: "We are very pleased to receive this major grant from AusIndustry, as we feel it represents endorsement of our corporate strategy and the development prospects of our cancer program."

She also said: "This funding is an important contribution towards our cancer program.". But that seems not to apply in the Dr Holt submission.

The statement to the ASX did not refer to Dr Rathjen's link to the committee that recommended Bionomics. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

So what of the outsider in this one horse race that effects us all?

Because Dr Holt's method of treatment is considered by our government's most unqualified "miniature medico" Tony Abbott, to be unorthodox it is, when brought to the governments attention, immediately moved to the bottom of the respective "in-tray's". Chemotherapy (a known killer), is the accepted, orthodox method in cancer Treatment

Dr Holt has persisted with his application for recognition to be at least heard and his positive results at least tested.

Cancer is a multi-billion dollar global industry that will not recognise any cure that cannot be manufactured as a patentable drug. It's about money. Last April, Bionomics was awarded a $3.7 million Commercial Ready government grant to take its anti-cancer drug into human clinical trials. Hell knows how much they have had for the lead up research.

Have you ever noticed how many appeals there are for cancer research, and yet after more than three decades, there is no cure? Ever noticed how every cancer cure ultimately gets swept under the carpet?

The NHMRC is supposedly conducting a review of Dr Holt's method of cancer treatment Microwave Cancer Therapy. The original date for this review to be submitted to the Minister for Health was December 21, 2004. It was not submitted. A further date was set. Again, the review was not submitted. It has still not been submitted.

So let us email Minister Abbott, insist that the Australian Government and the Department of Health and Ageing act swiftly and responsibly to ensure that Dr. Holt's (remember the man is in his 80's and time is of the essence) treatment method for cancer, plus interview the plethora of his patients who underwent Dr Holt's microwave treatment and have survived their cancer, and those findings be fairly evaluated with a report made available to the public.

Click Here for your Email to ABBOTT which will open a pre-written email(change if you desire but leave Abbott's email addresses intact) to save your time and hits home a request for details as to why he is delaying this Dr Holt submission

I would love to see what replies (if any - he is a politician and thruth questions are just too hard) are sent back to you if you would care to email them to me editor@sosnews.org

NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Phil Koperberg says the absolute horror of the 2003 Canberra bushfires was one of his biggest challenges in the job. After 21 years as head of the service Mr Koperberg takes leave without pay today to begin campaigning for the March state election, after being preselected by the Labor Party for the seat of the Blue Mountains.

When is a bureaucracy not a government bureaucracy? Correct us if we are wrong, but we understand that if one works for the government as an employee, to be an accepted political aspirant in an upcoming election, that person must resign from such employment. So just how is it the Phil Koperberg, the Commissioner for the NSW Rural Fire Service is only taking leave of absence from his well paid junket position to contest his buddy Debus’s seat in the Blue Mountains, instead of resigning and taking his chances like the rest of the people in this state that so aspire?

Obviously Phil is not so confidant of his chances as he would like us all to believe and hence he is going to have two BOBs each way on his financial future. Shame we the citizens could not do the same with both empires that Phil has a toe in - the RFS and NSW State Parliament.

As for Koperberg’s biggest challenge being the 2003 Canberra bushfires, the actual challenge was the NSW bushfires that started in McIntyre’s Hut area of the Brindabella Ranges and the Broken Cart fire that started close to the Broken Cart stock route.

The challenge in the first instance was one that Koperberg as head of the RFS failed to meet, as the memorandum of understanding between NSW and the ACT was that NSW would do all in its power to prevent a fire that started in NSW from impacting on the ACT and clearly this did not happen. In fact to the contrary, it appears that the in-action on the first day of McIntyre’s Hut fire was exactly the same reason that ACT fires got a hold and the rest was history.

Mr Koperberg for your edification upon reviewing our files we note an interesting piece provided to us re the NSW coronial day of hand down at the Queanbeyan Court of the NSW Inquiry into the 2003 bushfires, was that after the hand down a statement was overheard by a member of the public and regaled to SOS that went, and we quote, “Well we won that one.” This incredible statement was made by a person who was part of a small prominent group of people leaving the court room. Our records reflect that the person who overheard this statement is prepared if necessary to compile a statutory declaration to the effect. Given that coronial investigations are not about anyone winning anything, such a statement coming from amongst such a prominent group, gives the lay person real cause for concern as to the mind set and agenda of such people.

If one cares to read the Coroner Doogan findings for the ACT 2003 holocaust, evidence tendered by interested persons who wished their responses to be included quite clearly declare they did all and everything that the NSW RFS under Koperberg did in the first hours and days in regards to response to these 2003 infernos. In this we believe them, and given that not only were their early responses expeditiously unsatisfactory, but by their personal responses included in Maria Doogan’s ( Australian of the Year) report, it is clearly evident that the NSW response was equally inadequate and her report identifies this even though her jurisdiction was curtailed by spurious legal action.

No Mr Koperberg, your taking unpaid leave to enter the political scene you have been playing in unofficially for years is absolutely unsatisfactory. For the sake of the Yellow Angels that give up their time free and risk their lives so your wallet remains well padded via your hieratically driven empire, along with the well being of all who suffer from bushfire infernos because of top heavy dictatorial management processes, you need to resign and try your hand in the real world of unprotected citizenry.

Canberra burnt on your watch Mr Koperberg, so did Junee, Pilliga and many others, and of late the Bondo State Forest, with this latter having the incredible potential to not only destroy what is left of the Northern Kosciusko Mountains, but also had the real and incredible potential to burn out the Nothern Brindabellas and once again enter the ACT and finish off catastrophically the ACT conflagatory demise. Something that you were reported as having denied as being any credible threat. No wonder our forests resemble skeletal remains of once proud stands of trees.

As it appears that you are constantly reviewing our obscure web site (sosnews.org ) we are still waiting to hear a public response as to why a helicopter equipped with a bucket for fire fighting was reported as flying almost directly over the McIntyre’s Hut fire in the first hours, but was never tasked to start immediate aerial fire fighting on that ACT destroying fire. As we understand it above all else, had this taken place, fire history for 2003 would have been vastly different than it is being read today and millions of dollars spent trying to hide the truth could have been spent ensuring Westpac and NRMA Care flight emergency aerial entities had the resources they needed to continue. Instead as we see another private empire rising, the real experience of this service is being destroyed.

What patriotic Australian club do you guys in NSW Labor belong to? There is one good thing about your run for political heights and that is you have chosen the side that has for ten years screwed over the citizens of this state to the point the not only are we bankrupt as a state, but people are committing suicide from the effects. I guess like attracts like, although a smart man would not have transferred from a steamer to the decks of the titanic on that fateful night, but we are pleased to see you cross that boarding ladder. Bon Voyage! Good luck on your campaign.

Brumbyy (with2Y's)
brumbyy@sosnews.org

Well the 2003 Snowy holocaust was said to be a "1 in a 100 year fire".

What does the Bracks Government say now with much 2003 burn going up again and no one is certain what is going to return after this fire killing of hot and hard any seedlings and before much of it had time to seed again.

Global warming is when you let her burn up hill in the height of summer!

The fire behaviour may interest some readers. Apparently the regrowth going under the forest skeletons now cured nicely is producing a good clearing burn in some cases taking 50% of the standing trees, along with and all the green regeneration seedlings and sucker growth. The fire is like a good grass fire travelling about 5 km /hour and in some cases spotting 2km ahead on a good day with a dry wind behind it.

Interesting feedback on organisational skills. With hard negotiation going on, there has been more autonomy for the ground fire fighters with the bunker back in the big smoke learning to keep up logistics rather than micro manage on information relayed through five shifts and five hundred miles based on information 3 hours out of date.

Another snippet is that, it was thought that the country protected by grazing in 2003 has accidentally burnt with 3 years ungrazed growth on it gone are the many sphagnum bogs, ancient snow gums, pygmy possum colonies that cattle grazing saved last time.

The grazed country brought in line with destocking in 1991, burnt in 2003, hot and hard. Adjacent, still grazed to 2003 destocked for fire recovery, leases dissolved in 2005 burnt 3 years ungrazed growth in 2006, with curiously inadequate containment lines, inadequate in benign weather. Scientists were not given a research licence to look at and compare grazing effect on fire intensity regeneration biodiversity survival water and carbon fluxes. Perhaps the evidence is now burnt! - adding yet another dimension to the "no evidence to support grazing reduces blazing, biodiversity gravitates to grazing!"

Bulls Wool
From
"Swing Dolly Creek"