The Allan Labor Government has once again failed to provide any answers as to whether the Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic)’s G-Wagon’s fleet will be repaired or written off for one of the most dangerous bush fire seasons ahead.
Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Minister for Emergency Services, Danny O’Brien, said the Labor Government was failing to clarify if and when Victoria’s firefighting fleet will be in full working order.
In Question Time, Minister for Environment, Steve Dimopoulos, failed to provide any answers over the 290 Forest Fire Management G-Wagon firefighting appliances recently taken offline due to a serious fault.
When asked how many of those vehicles cannot be repaired and will be written off the Minister, for the second time in two weeks, refused to provide a clear answer — offering no timeline for when the fleet would be fully operational again.
Mr O’Brien said the failure to maintain the state’s firefighting fleet was another example of Labor’s mismanagement putting regional Victorians at risk.
“We’re now weeks away from bushfire season and the Allan Labor Government can’t even say when its fire trucks will be back on the road,” Mr O’Brien said.
“Regional Victorians deserve confidence that when the next fires start, every available truck will be ready to roll.”
Shadow Minister for Public Land Management, Melina Bath, said it was no surprise that Labor still can’t explain how this issue will be resolved.
“This is another example of Labor taking more with its new $3 billion emergency services tax and giving less,” Ms Bath said.
“We’re just weeks away from fire season and we’re still waiting on urgent repairs or replacements for the faulty G-Wagon fleets.”
Under a Liberals and Nationals Government, not only will we abolish Labor’s $3 billion emergency services tax, but we will restore full confidence in Victoria’s firefighting capability.
