Australian Workers’ Union claims 50 crucial NPWS jobs unfilled

Almost 50 jobs within the National Parks and Wildlife Service remain unfilled since the organisation underwent a restructure two years ago, with the Australian Workers Union claiming some of those roles are crucial to fire management. SEE THE LIST

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Almost 50 jobs within national parks have remained vacant for the past two years, including two fuel management and fire trail maintenance roles.

The vacancies cover nationals parks across the State, with some of the roles not having been filled since the 2017 restructure of the now merged agency.

The Australian Workers’ Union claims there are at least 50 crucial jobs yet to be filled within the National Park and Wildlife Service. Picture Gary Ramage

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has undergone multiple restructures over the past decade, with the agency becoming a part of the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment after the March state election.

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While the State government has argued staff numbers had not been cut, both the Australian Workers’ Union and the Public Service Association claim more senior positions have been let go in place of more junior staff.

The AWU has now also released a list of jobs it claims have been unfilled since the restructure, effectively reducing the actual number of field jobs from 748 to 690.

Many of the vacancies are field officer positions, whose roles often include fire mitigation and firefighting.

Of the vacancies in fire-affected regions, the Khancoban office in the Snowy Mountains has two field officer roles which are unfilled, while three positions near Tumut are also vacant.

Down in Narooma where fires tore through Cobargo, the office also has a vacancy as does the Dorrigo office on the north coast.

There are also vacancies in Bowraville, and also in Bucketty, where staff later helped fight the Gosper’s Mountain blaze.

The biggest number of vacancies are in the Lane Cove office where five jobs remain unfilled, followed by the Royal National Park with three positions.

Other vacancies are located in offices in Forestville, the Central Coast, Narrabri, Glenn Innes and Coffs Harbour.

Australian Workers Union national secretary Daniel Walton. Picture: Grant Wells

Union national secretary Daniel Walton said the vacancies were on top of the departure of highly experienced staff with decades of experience in fires and fuel management.

The very least the State government could do was to immediately fill the vacancies.

“Some have been empty since 2017 and in areas that we have just witnessed bush fires tear through,” he said.

“They pushed out some of the most experienced and senior firefighters in the state who knew the ground, the conditions and had decades of experience.

“You can’t replace experience and local knowledge when it comes to firefighting and it’s a disgrace that we saw so many people leave the service who could have been instrumental in this season’s outbreaks.”

Originally published as Australian Workers’ Union claims 50 crucial NPWS jobs unfilled