Without the strict physical distancing measures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be impossible for local media to cover the current 2018 Reedy Swamp/Tathra bushfire coronial inquiry.
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However, due to the restrictions, the inquiry is being broadcast live over YouTube from the Forensic Medicine and Coroners Court Complex in Lidcombe, allowing my living room to become a courthouse.
Working from home has become living at work in many ways.
Working at home with a better half who is also working from home, along with a two-year-old to entertain, multi-tasking has become the new normal.
While it can be difficult to switch off at the end of the day, and there are endless distractions at home, we now have the opportunity to watch what is going on outside the Bega Valley in real time.
Coverage of the current inquiry would've been impossible for a local newspaper just months ago.
Having covered tragic events as they happen, we are often unable to then sit in Sydney courtrooms to hear the eventuating court cases or inquiries to provide our readers with a fuller story.
Now, local residents and journalists can watch it unfold as it happens, and have an opinion on events without having to wait for Deputy State Coroner Elaine Truscott's findings to be released to the public.
The wait for the inquiry has been long for residents, with some still not finished rebuilding what was lost on March 18, 2018.
While amazingly no lives were lost, the fire burned through more than 1000 hectares of forest, causing $63.5million worth of damage, and destroying 56 homes and 35 outbuildings. According to Suncorp Group, the fire hurt the local economy by an estimated $207million, which is a 33.7 per cent decline in local GDP.
The coronial inquiry comes after this summer's tragic bushfire season, with many looking towards the Royal Commission or Senate inquiry for answers.
It is easy to become overwhelmed with inquiries, and keeping up with the information they are revealing ahead of the upcoming fire season.
No doubt law firms and insurance companies are taking note though, with extreme interest in Deputy State Coroner Truscott's findings. I am sure the findings of the inquiry will lead to even more time spent in courtrooms.
READ MORE
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