Shane Fitzsimmons believes he was made the scapegoat for government’s floods failure

Outgoing Resilience NSW Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons believes his job was doomed the moment the first flood arrived this year, as an ill-prepared state government looked for someone to blame.

Firefighting hero Shane Fitzsimmons believes his job at Resilience NSW was doomed the moment the first flood arrived this year, as an ill-prepared state government looked for someone to blame.

The outgoing commissioner, who was made redundant after criticism from some within both the state government and opposition, has been gagged from speaking publicly.

However, a source close to the former NSW Rural Fire Services (RFS) boss said the long-serving public servant who led the state’s response to the devastating 2019 “Black Summer” bushfires believes he was made the scapegoat for the inadequate NSW government response to the floods.

“Suddenly he was being blamed for the emergency response when that was never the job of his agency,” the source said.

“It was like blaming the police for an ambulance not turning up.

Resilience NSW Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons giving evidence at NSW Budget Estimates. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Swift

“Resilience NSW was never meant to be a response agency. It was for long-term recovery. But after the disastrous response to the March floods, Shane and the agency became the scapegoat.

“He was being personally smashed and gagged at the same time.”

Appointed as the RFS commissioner by the former Labor government, Mr Fitzsimmons quickly established his credentials as a calm and effective leader in times of crisis.

So impressed were senior Liberals at Mr Fitzsimmons’ RFS leadership, he was sounded out for his interest in politics.

The source — who spoke on the condition of anonymity — also believes Mr Fitzsimmons fell victim to his loyalty to former premier Gladys Berejiklian, who appointed him to the helm of her new recovery agency, with the pair having developed a close working relationship.

However, the source pointed out how Mr Fitzsimmons had been equally loyal to Ms Berejiklian’s predecessors, and would have also been to Premier Dominic Perrottet.

But the role of his agency — and possibly its “waffly” and confusing name — was never properly articulated to the public.

In response to months of leaks to the media about inefficiencies within Resilience NSW shortly after the government was criticised for its response to the February floods, Mr Fitzsimmons sought a meeting with Mr Perrottet in July to confirm the rumours.

It is understood he was encouraged to stay on to help with “transitioning”, only for the attacks to continue.

The flood inquiry recommended Resilience NSW be dissolved after finding a failure by management to learn from previous disasters and reviews.

Mr Fitzsimmons told staff on Thursday it had not been his choice to leave the public service after more than 30 years. It is understood his termination took effect on Friday.

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