AMTRA Camp Burnt Out.

Spare a thought today for the blokes at the Australian Motorcycle Trailriders Association.

Fire yesterday burnt out their well established and cared for club camp at Abbeyard. AMTRA has been a loyal ally and good friend of the Mountain Cattlemen and other bush user groups and hopefully when the fires are out we'll all get a chance to get together with them and help with the clean-up and rebuilding.

I spoke to Club president, Peter Ellard, last night and as usual he was positive and upbeat.

Meanwhile, Steve Bracks continues to claim that Victoria is the best prepared it's ever been to deal with the uncontrollable blazes that are destroying what remained of the Alpine National Park after 2003. Who does he think he's kidding?

Preparation means that the bush is relatively safe, that fuel reduction strategies have ensured that the inevitable fires that come with a dry summer will not be able to satisfy their ravenous hunger on massive fuel loads.

No country can be prepared to fight fires that can't be fought successfully. Any firefighter will tell you that suppression is a wildly impossible dream. Prevention is the key to preparedness and Victoria's prevention strategies have been so lacking as to be almost non-existent.

Bracks is a master of lies and spin but even he can't get out of this one. Let's make sure we don't let him off the hook.

Yesterday he cancelled a planned visit to the firefront. Mysteriously it was said to be "inappropriate." Maybe he was a bit nervous about the reception he would have received.

Originally published by Philip McGuire on Bundarrah Days Blog