Powercor to fork out $17.5m to farmers over bushfire
Victims of a bushfire that was sparked by a substation and ravaged homes, farmland and livestock in southwest Victoria are to be paid $17.5 million in compensation as details of a class action settlement against Powercor are revealed for the first time.
VIC News
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Residents left devastated when a bushfire ravaged their homes, farmland and livestock across southwest Victoria will share a $17.5 million compensation payout from Powercor.
Details of the class action settlement can be revealed for the first time after the Supreme Court approved its distribution scheme, declaring it “fair and accurate”.
A total of 92 residents will share the spoils.
The fire ignited near Powercor’s Terang power substation on March 17, 2018 after conductors on a power line came into contact, sending heat or sparks into nearby dry grass.
The St Patrick’s Day fires prompted mass evacuations and razed thousands of hectares of land in the Camperdown, Cobden, Timboon and Terang areas. It took weeks for firefighters to control.
The class action was launched against Powercor alleging it was negligent and that the fire could have been avoided by the appropriate management of electrical assets.
Third generation dairy farmer Phillip Grummett is among the group who took a stand against the leading electricity supplier after losing 70 of his prized 250 milking cows, sheds, machinery and fences.
“It was 100 per cent Powercor’s fault,” Mr Grummett said.
“This absolutely could have been prevented.”
Mr Grummett, 49, said the “hellish” day the fire swept across his Terang property was one he would never forget.
He worked through the night to move his cattle around the property in a bid to save as many as he could.
“If we didn’t do that, I would have lost them all and that’s our lifeline,” Mr Grummett said. “The poor old defenceless cows, they’ve got a heartbeat. A tractor doesn’t have a heartbeat. So our priority was to protect them.”
Mr Grummett said the year following the bushfires was “tough” with many farmers struggling to make ends meet.
The Grummetts were fortunate to have some savings behind them to replace some machinery with old second-hand equipment.
But Mr Grummett said when the class action money lands in his account it will “be like winning the lotto”.
The farmers were claiming compensation for loss of or damage to property, personal injury, both physical or psychiatric, and economic loss.
This month’s stamp of approval by Supreme Court Justice Lisa Nichols means the money can be distributed by Maddens Lawyers, who represented the affected residents.
Powercor only agreed to the settlement without admission of liability.
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