Review best outcome
The proposed fire services restructure is less than a good outcome for all Victorians, their safety and their back pockets.
The legislation has gone through the lower house of Parliament, that the government controls, but has yet to pass through the upper house and this passage is doubtful at best. The government does not control this house.
The upper levels of CFA management have in recent weeks treated this “solution to a very embarrassing industrial problem” as if it is a done deal. My reading of the situation is that it will not get through the upper house and the legislation will have to be either extensively modified or that a transparent parliamentary review will have to be conducted. A review would be the best outcome with all details of this deal having to be accountable.
The government has outlined the basics of the restructure, but this has not been enough to answer the many questions that CFA volunteers have across the state.
It is the details that have the most effect on volunteers, their training, their safety, their equipment (etc) and none of these answers are available. Our immediate managers at district and regional level do not even know the answers. “It will be fine” coming from senior management and the UFU simply does not suffice!.
The freeze on the fire services levy for two years gives no indication of what this change will mean financially to residents later.
With local towns like Morwell and Traralgon going from having individual integrated CFA stations to separate stations and appliances for staff and volunteers, still servicing the same area, will be extremely expensive.
There will be a double up of everything from appliances to management structures and this will not come cheaply. This duplication is also planned for all major regional towns and the two thirds of metropolitan Melbourne currently serviced by the CFA.
The volunteers in our 43 brigades across District 9 are proud to serve and provide a vital service to Victorians, free of cost. Any restructure needs to respect CFA volunteerism and ensure it is made sustainable and supported for the long term.
It is true that we, District 9, do not currently have any permanent firefighters but local brigades do regularly use Morwell’s Breathing Apparatus filling vehicle and Traralgon’s aerial appliance so what happens there affects us.
A brick to the management of Warragul Cinema for changing their ad from including session times to just printing a contact number and website address. Spare a thought for those who may not have access to a computer or even a phone. Sorry, but this is unacceptable. Not happy.
Bricks to the Warragul Basketball Association‘s 12B girls draw. No home games for either Warragul sides instead 5.50pm games at Bunyip! Apparently Ä”grade teams get preference over “B”grade teams. Fair?? I don’t think so. Not to the children or the parents considering everyone pays the same fees.
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