Farmers' want repayment for water taken to fight fires.

Broadcast: 26/10/2007

Reporter: Anthony Howard

PETER CALOUTAS, APPLE GROWER: We want the water to help fighting fires but we believe that we shouldn't have to go and pay excess money on insurance to cover the water that other people have taken. We just want it to be fair, just replace what you have taken and everyone's happy.

JOHN CALOUTAS, APPLE GROWER: If they are going to continue to be like this, maybe we run wires across there and nobody gets any water. And that would be the last resort. I wouldn't like to do it but if we are pushed in a corner you have got to come out fighting.

ANTHONY HOWARD, REPORTER: In November last year, John Caloutas and his son Peter downed tools on their apple farm to help save neighbouring properties and their own from the fires that ripped through the high country.

JOHN CALOUTAS: Back here was all on fire, we went to the neighbours place, didn't we Pete, and helped protect their properties and all that while the choppers were taking water out of our dam and helped to put the fires out.

ANTHONY HOWARD: They were successful due in no small part to water bombing helicopters that have become an essential element of remote fire fighting.

LIAM FOGERTY, DEPARTMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENT: Our CFA and DSC firefighters play a pretty important role in that but again helicopters and the water that they can provide quickly is essential for us.

ANTHONY HOWARD: DSE and country fire authority aircraft logged 7,500 hours fighting fires last year. Neither agency can say just how much water they dropped but sky cranes like 'Elvis' have a 9,000 litre pay load that takes a punishing toll on already drought affected dams.

JOHN CALOUTAS: By the time they finished, I suppose, would it have dropped that much?

PETER CALOUTAS: Well, with the helicopter being in here with all the evaporation.

JOHN CALOUTAS: Yeah, it would have dropped that much I suppose.

PETER CALOUTAS: Just throwing water over the sides of the banks.

ANTHONY HOWARD: An application was made to the Alpine Shire to have the water replaced. The claim then passed on to the Department of Sustainability and Environment.

John Caloutas claimed that at least 200,000 litres had been taken from his dam.

LIAM FOGERTY: We don't aim to keep those sort of detailed records. The program is about supporting people who have been affected by fire and making sure that there is enough water for them to move to get through to the autumn rains.

ANTHONY HOWARD: A representative from DSE visits the Caloutas's property twice, they acknowledged water had been taken, but refused to replace it. Under the government's policy property owners are entitled to compensation only if the water taken for firefighting is deemed as essential use.

In essence, that needed for drinking or to keep stock and crops alive. Emergency Services Minister Bob Cameron declined a request for an interview.

LIAM FOGERTY: We had over 100 farmers that were, where the essential water was replenished last year. To my knowledge we only had a few instances where we looked at the case, and there wasn't an urgent need, the water wasn't essential to provide the resource for life to keep stock alive.

ANTHONY HOWARD: Insurance companies are the final port of call for people like John and Peter Caloutas, seeking a payout for water claimed by the firefighting effort.

TIM PLANT, ELDERS: We will cover losses so that do result from water being required from a dam or a well or even a domestic swimming pool used for firefighting purposes.

ANTHONY HOWARD: The National Party spokesperson for emergency services, Bill Sykes wants farmers protected by legislation, seeking to amend the emergency services bill.

BILL SYKES, NATIONAL PARTY MP: The Insurance Council recognises the policies were written for circumstances going back to when only a small amount of water was taken to fight fires on your place or the neighbour's place but now with the capacity to take large amounts of water over many kilometres, clearly the impact is much greater and in fact an insurance claim as the government suggests may only be to replace water taken to fight fires on public land.

That is fundamentally wrong, that a private landholders insurance should be used to cover the cost of fighting a fire on public land.

SIMON RAMSAY, VICTORIAN FARMERS FEDERATION: We are not going to pay for a helicopter service, that actually fights fires on behalf of the government, as well as provide the water free of charge. We believe the State Government is duty bound to put in legislation, a permanent fixture where they will replace the water, whether it be monetary value or water itself that is taken away from private property owners to be used for fighting fires.

LIAM FOGERTY: The focus is on protection of life and property, that is very much what our mission is during fire emergencies and the water, the replacement of essential water is about our recovery and support arrangements to people who are already in drought affected areas.

ANTHONY HOWARD: The National Party is hoping to introduce its amended legislation to the Upper House next week. On the verge of summer and in the midst of the worst drought on record there are few certainties for farmers, other than that they will have one eye on the weather, the other on their water.

KATHY BOWLEN, PRESENTER: Anthony Howard reporting.