Memories of a nightmare

Beef producer, Chris Commins, remembers the horror of the Black Summer bushfires like they were yesterday.
Mr Commins, who resides on farmland near Ensay, also has a landholding stocked with cattle at Wingan River, between Cann River and Genoa in Far East Gippsland.
The bushfires which impacted Mallacoota two years ago also affected his Wingan River property about 30 minutes northwest of the popular tourist holiday hotspot.
Mr Commins’ real nightmare with bureaucracy began immediately following the bushfires on New Year’s Eve when he was unable to check on his livestock because the Princes Highway had been slammed shut by the State Government.
With more than half his pastures blackened, Mr Commins knew his livestock would be hungry and was concerned for their welfare.