Phil Koperberg
"An expert in risk and crisis management, Phil Koperberg was the overall emergency controller during the 2001 Christmas/New Year fires, when Australia faced its longest and most intense bush firefighting campaign.
In April 1999 when severe hail storms battered eastern Sydney causing damage to more than 30,000 properties Koperberg was appointed to operationally coordinate the emergency control / initial recovery effort.
Koperberg was Commissioner during the following major environmental events, most of which involved his professional skills: In 2007 it was revealed on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Four Corners TV program that legal action was launched by residents in the Blue Mountains against the NSW Rural Fire Service, the local fire brigade, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Sydney Catchment Authority, as a result of damage caused by the 2001 Black Christmas/Warragamba bushfires.
[5] In separate action, a negligence claim was lodged in the ACT Supreme Court for damages against the NSW and Australian Capital Territory governments resulting from the 2003 Canberra bushfires.
[6] In hearings before the ACT Supreme Court, Koperberg admitted that at a meeting held in Queanbeyan he had understated the threat of the bushfires to Canberra's western suburbs.
[9] "The move comes despite denials as late as this week by Mr Koperberg that he had no plans to seek preselection in the seat which Labor holds by a 14.8 per cent margin.
Mr Koperberg's years of high profile work fighting fires would make him a popular choice for the bushland electorate.
On 6 November, Sydney radio personality Alan Jones made comment on air in response to these revelations:[10] "Look, can we end all this nonsense about Phil Koperberg.
On 30 March, New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma announced Koperberg would be the Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Water.
In the aftermath of the election, it was revealed that Koperberg's ex-wife Specking had been involved in an affair with Paul Gibson, the Member for Blacktown and as a result the two men were bitter rivals.
Koperberg had in fact earlier suggested Gibson was behind the domestic violence allegations, accusing him of running a smear campaign "bordering on evil".
[13][14] On 2 December 2007, the claims regarding Koperberg's violence toward Specking re-emerged, this time with the additional implication that he had also assaulted his stepdaughter Paula Coad "with such force that one of her fillings was knocked out".
[13] Further claims were laid that the NSW Labor Party knew of the allegations before Koperberg's nomination for election and attempts were made to cover them up.
But an unnamed source close to Koperberg, cited in The Sydney Morning Herald, said that the real reason for his resignation from the ministry was that he was fed up with continuing unsubstantiated allegations being promulgated by his party colleague, Blacktown MP, Paul Gibson.
