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| Australia bushfire inquiry opens | Australia bushfire inquiry opens |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Victims of February's bushfires in Victoria have complained they are being locked out of a public inquiry into the worst disaster in Australian peacetime. | Victims of February's bushfires in Victoria have complained they are being locked out of a public inquiry into the worst disaster in Australian peacetime. |
| The Royal Commission into the fires is opening in Melbourne, the state capital, but victims groups say they are being denied a voice. | The Royal Commission into the fires is opening in Melbourne, the state capital, but victims groups say they are being denied a voice. |
| There is also anger that the initial focus of the inquiry is the response to the fires rather than what caused them. | There is also anger that the initial focus of the inquiry is the response to the fires rather than what caused them. |
| The Black Saturday bushfires killed 173 people and ruined over 2,000 homes. | |
| In announcing the Royal Commission into the worst bushfires in Australia's modern history, the state government said it would allow everyone to have a say - that it would be a "peoples' commission". | In announcing the Royal Commission into the worst bushfires in Australia's modern history, the state government said it would allow everyone to have a say - that it would be a "peoples' commission". |
| But groups and lawyers representing hundreds of victims claim they are being excluded. | But groups and lawyers representing hundreds of victims claim they are being excluded. |
| Disquiet | |
| The commission has decided to hear evidence from people whose conduct will come under scrutiny during the inquiry - that is to say state officials and the emergency services. | The commission has decided to hear evidence from people whose conduct will come under scrutiny during the inquiry - that is to say state officials and the emergency services. |
| The victims have argued that the best way to identify the causes of bushfires is to hear directly from those who have suffered from them: people who lost their relatives and their homes. | The victims have argued that the best way to identify the causes of bushfires is to hear directly from those who have suffered from them: people who lost their relatives and their homes. |
| The state's leading forestry body has also been denied the right to appear - even though the management of forests and bush land is thought by many to have contributed to the ferocity of the fires. | The state's leading forestry body has also been denied the right to appear - even though the management of forests and bush land is thought by many to have contributed to the ferocity of the fires. |
| There has also been disquiet that the commission will focus initially on the government's evacuation strategy - the controversial "stay and defend or leave early policy". | |
| They would prefer it to focus on the causes of the fires. | They would prefer it to focus on the causes of the fires. |
| "If you can stop the fires," said one lawyer, "you don't have to worry about whether you are going to flee." | "If you can stop the fires," said one lawyer, "you don't have to worry about whether you are going to flee." |