A group of NSW residents just across the border will have their voices heard in the Orroral Valley Fire inquiry after the ACT Chief Coroner rescinded her initial refusal following a Supreme Court review.
The January 2020 fire tore through about 80 per cent of the Namadgi National Park after it was ignited by a defence helicopter during a reconnaissance exercise.
The fire burnt across the territory for one month and it led to the Clear Range fire across the border, destroying numerous properties.
Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker in January ruled against the nine Bumbalong residents, who were impacted by the latter fire, from appearing in the inquiry which will focus on the fire's cause and origin, after they requested an inquiry.
The residents' application was based on a section of the Coroners Act that allows the granting of leave to a party if a coroner views that they have a sufficient interest in an inquiry.
They argued that "it is accepted by everyone that the Orroral Valley fire morphed into the Clear Range fire" and therefore the latter fire damaging property outside the ACT was legally irrelevant.
The residents' application was denied on the basis they did not have a sufficient interest in the proceedings as the damage to property occurred outside the ACT.
The residents' lawyers then filed an originating claim in the ACT Supreme Court for review and the matter was heard in March.
The grounds were jurisdictional error, improper exercise of power and error of law.
Chief Justice Lucy McCallum in July ruled in favour of the residents, saying she found jurisdictional error.
She said the problem was the damage's geographical location imposing a constraint on Ms Walker's authority.
Following her finding of that error, the Chief Justice was not required to consider the other two grounds for review and the matter went back to the Coroner's Court for determination.
In her September 29 decision, Ms Walker said her initial ruling "was found to be in error" by the Supreme Court.
She subsequently granted leave for the NSW residents to appear and be legally represented at the inquiry.
"Noting that I am not bound by the geographical location of any property damaged in the fire in determining the existence of the applicants' sufficient interest and noting that each of them was impacted by the fire including suffering property loss, I find that each of the Bumbalong residents has a sufficient interest," Ms Walker said.
"With the expectation that the inquiry will not be expanded in scope or length as a result of this determination, I now grant leave to the Bumbalong residents to appear and be represented."
The legal team representing the NSW residents also represents a number of ACT residents in the inquiry.
Sam Tierney, executive counsel at Ken Cush & Associates and solicitor representing the Bumbalong residents, said they were "delighted and grateful to the Chief Coroner for allowing them to take part in working out the how this dreadful fire happened and came to devastate their homes and lives".
Ms Walker last July announced the inquiry, which will focus on the 45 minutes it took for the helicopter crew to alert the ACT Emergency Service Agency to the fire's location.
The inquiry is scheduled for November 14-18.
