CFA restructure: Daniel Andrews offers firefighters cancer compo to dismantle CFA

PREMIER Daniel Andrews has offered firefighters rights of cancer compensation in new laws before parliament — but it will be in exchange for a vote to dismantle the CFA.

NEW laws to give firefighters presumptive rights of cancer compensation will be tied to controversial changes to dismantle the CFA.

The extraordinary decision will mean that MPs who do not support the establishment of Fire Rescue Victoria would have to vote down presumptive rights for firefighters.

Premier Daniel Andrews said one bill would be introduced to parliament on Wednesday to set up the new FRV agency, make the CFA a volunteer-only body, create a new Fire Services Commissioner, and establish a new panel to advise on fire boundaries.

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It comes as the United Firefighters Union this morning launched a series of television and radio advertisements to back the government’s changes.

Mr Andrews said the laws would also contain the presumptive rights package, which would provide compensation to some firefighters who get certain types of cancer.

There will be no requirement for a number of incidents to be attended, and there will be an “exceptional exposure events” clause included.

One crossbench MP has already expressed discomfort about the fact the compensation package would be tied to broader reforms that dismantle the CFA.

But Mr Andrews brushed off questions about joining the two packages, saying it was about creating a “modern fire services”.

New laws to give firefighters presumptive rights of cancer compensation will be tied to controversial changes to dismantle the CFA. Picture: Zoe Phillips.

“We would expect that all fair minded members of the Victorian Parliament would vote for that Bill,” he said.

“We will act in good faith work closely with the crossbench and the deputy premier has already done that. We have got a proven track record of doing just that over the past two and a half years.”

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But crossbench MPs are yet to be briefed on the Bill, and have been left in the dark about the fundamental changes to fire services in Victoria.

The package of changes have been drafted in secret by the Andrews Government, with members of the premier’s Cabinet unaware of plans up until a couple of weeks before they were brought forward.

Emergency Services Minister James Merlino said the changes would not be “costly”, but refused to say how much each new firefighter recruited would cost or how many new members would be needed long term.

The new Fire Rescue Victoria will bring paid firefighters from the CFA and MFB into one agency, while volunteers will remain in the CFA.

The changes were triggered after the Andrews Government was unable to ram through a union-friendly EBA for CFA firefighters that would have given new controls to the UFU.

The new EBA for FRV will be an amalgamation of CFA and MFB agreements, which have stalled because of MFB chiefs’ concerns about veto clauses.

However, Mr Andrews has repeatedly sided with the UFU rather than fire chiefs, many of who have quit or been forced to resign over the saga.

Emergency Services Minister James Merlino. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

Mr Andrews and Mr Merlino were surrounded by firefighters during the press conference.

Michael James, who has served for 35 years as a volunteer and then paid firefighter, said the changes would be for the “greater good of the community”.

Mr James, who fought fires at Bunyip during the Black Saturday catastrophe, also spoke about the offence caused by opposition emergency services spokesman Brad Battin recently.

Mr Battin wrongly claimed in Parliament that paid firefighters had taken five and a half hours to respond to fires on Black Saturday.

He later apologised and said he was wrong.

Mr James said for Mr Battin to “politicise” those fires and say that paid firefighters did not respond for hours was “deeply offensive”.

“I don’t know if the comments were ill-informed or had some other malicious intent,” he said.

This morning, Mr Merlino called for Mr Battin to provide parliament with a personal explanation for his comments.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy tried to deflect the attack by asking Mr Merlino to apologise for once calling protective services officers “plastic police”.

Announcing a campaign titled “Fire Doesn’t Wait” to support the government’s changes, UFU secretary Peter Marshall said Victoria’s fire boundaries were “60 years old” which “does not serve the purpose”.

“It is unrealistic to have a country fire system covering areas such as Dandenong, Springvale, Hoppers Crossing, Melton,” Mr Marshall said.

“Originally there was a metropolitan fire brigade to look after urbanised areas and there was the CFA, which was predominantly volunteer.

“What happened, right up to the 1970s was there was an administrative boundary which looked at urban growth and it adjusted those boundaries to make sure there was different level of cover. “That administrative boundary was abolished in the 1970s, so what we’ve got is a really antiquated system where the urbanised area that requires a rapid response is not getting it.

“No state in Australia has the system we currently have, it’s antiquated and out-of-date.”

Fire fighters battle bushfires burning at the Bunyip State Forest in Victoria on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. Picture: AAP Image/Andrew Brownbill

Mr Marshall said there would be no adverse effect on volunteers and Victoria’s surge capacity to deal with major disasters such as bushfires would remain.

“They (volunteers) would be in the same stations they are in now, they’d be serviced the same way, they would have the same support, there is no impact,” he said.

Mr Marshall also defended the government’s move to tie the presumptive legislation to restructure.

“It is not unusual for a bill relating to the fire service to have many angles to it,” he said.

“The good thing about these: both of these are positive, there are no negatives about it.

He said television and radio advertisements would be rolled out to inform the public on the need for the changes, after the union’s focus groups revealed Victorians had a poor understanding about their fire cover.

At the same event, professional fire officer Rachel Cowling said volunteers and career firefighters now needed to come together.

“I’m really passionate about my job and keeping Victorians safe, and I think it well overdue Victorian got the fire services they deserve,” she said.

“Hopefully we can all come together and work for the cause that we all joined the fire service for, and that’s to protect the community.”

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