Three CFA volunteers have travelled to Parliament this week to warn that years of Labor Government decisions have left Victoria’s volunteer firefighters carrying more responsibility with less support.
Highlands CFA captain David Webb, CFA Group Officer David Hamilton and Gooram CFA captain Michael Stubbe met with Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland in parliament following the release of IBAC’s Operation Richmond report, which exposed serious and concerning conduct within the former Andrews Government during negotiations with the United Firefighters Union.
The issues exposed by Operation Richmond were not historical, with the volunteers arguing they were still being felt by CFA brigades across regional Victoria.
The volunteers told Ms Cleeland that CFA had increasingly been stripped of administrative support, leaving volunteers to shoulder more of the work that keeps their brigades functioning while they were also expected to be ready to respond when their communities were threatened.
“These volunteers came to Parliament this week because they are frustrated, and they have every right to be,” Ms Cleeland said.
“These are people who put their hands up to protect their communities. They should be spending their time training, preparing and responding to emergencies, not fighting through unnecessary administration and red tape because the support around them has been stripped away.
“Regional Victorians rely on their local CFA volunteers. When the alarm sounds, these are the people who leave their homes, farms and workplaces to protect their neighbours.
“Yet Labor has continued to make decisions that put it’s own political interest ahead of our volunteers, while taking away the support they need to do their jobs.”
Operation Richmond examined the Andrews Government’s handling of negotiations with the United Firefighters Union and found serious deficiencies in behaviour, systems, policies and controls. IBAC also found the UFU secretary had exerted extraordinary influence over the government during the negotiations.
“We cannot look at Operation Richmond as something that happened a decade ago and simply move on,” Ms Cleeland said.
“The consequences of those decisions have shaped our fire services and are still being felt by the volunteers who have to make the system work every day.
“CFA is not just another government agency. It is a volunteer organisation built on people giving their time to protect their communities.
“Every piece of administration that is pushed onto a volunteer is time taken away from their family, their farm, their business or their training.
“And when you live in regional Victoria, you know exactly what is at stake. When fires threaten, you cannot afford to have your local brigade bogged down by bureaucracy.
“Labor needs to start listening to CFA volunteers rather than telling them what they need.
Ms Cleeland said the volunteers visited the Victoria Parliament because they cared deeply about the CFA and the communities they serve.
“Their message was simple: support the volunteers, strengthen the CFA and stop making it harder for them to protect regional Victoria,” Ms Cleeland said.
“After the fires we have just experienced, Labor should be doing everything it can to back our volunteers.
“Instead, regional Victorians are once again being left to carry the consequences of Labor’s decisions.”
Photo Caption: Highlands CFA captain David Webb, CFA Group Officer David Hamilton, Annabelle Cleeland MP, Gooram CFA captain Michael Stubbe, Danny O’Brien MP (Leader of the Nationals)
