Annual report dump reveals CFA losing volunteers, paramedics being attacked

The Country Fire Authority shed more than 1000 volunteers last year as its budget bottom line was hit by a $24 million increase in wages and allowances paid to career firefighters.

The Country Fire Authority shed more than 1000 volunteers last year as its budget bottom line was hit by a $24 million increase in wages and allowances paid to career firefighters.

Victoria’s fire services also failed to meet targets to improve gender diversity, with just 59 women working as career firefighters in the CFA and 71 in the Metropolitan Fire Brigade.

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The figures were revealed in more than 100 annual reports dumped on the first day of the 59th Victorian Parliament, which kicked off after the Andrews Government’s thumping election win.

The documents, which the government failed to table prior to the election, also revealed:

PARAMEDICS were the victims of about 12 violent incidents every week.

DELAYED and cancelled services forced V/Line to pay $156,931 in compensation to passengers, up from $84,435 the year before, as overall customer satisfaction with regional trains fell to 75.08 per cent.

INCREASED demand at emergency departments saw more patients waiting longer in hospital ambulance bays for a bed, and more emergency patients waiting longer than four hours.

FOUR criminals were convicted of serious offences while on parole and 156 people had their parole cancelled, a 24 per cent decrease on the previous year.

Premier Daniel Andrews (middle) and other MPs are sworn in at the opening of the 59th Parliament. Picture: David Crosling (AAP)

TAXI licence holders received more than $329 million in transition payouts after the government legalised ride-sharing services including Uber.

ALMOST 73,000 Victorians accessed public mental health services, a massive 9.6 per cent increase, but just 57 per cent of mentally ill patients were admitted to emergency department beds within eight hours.

PEOPLE on the priority housing queue waited more than 10 months for accommodation, and an extra 9500 people sought help for homelessness.

The CFA’s annual report showed it had aimed to have at least 39,400 volunteer firefighters last year but only had 34,586 as overall volunteer numbers declined.

But its employee wages bill soared from $322.3 million to $346.8 million due to pay rises, extra allowances and increased staff numbers.

MFB president Jasmine Doak said the brigade had “a lot of work to do” to improve gender diversity.

The report noted 85 per cent of staff completed a workplace behavioural training course, organised in partnership with the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.

Ms Doak also criticised the “unprecedented scenes” in Parliament when two Liberal MPs broke pairing arrangements to vote down a Bill to deliver presumptive rights for cancer compensation to firefighters, as well as restructure the fire services.

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