CFA volunteers ready to wage war on Labor in co-ordinated attack against union takeover

FURIOUS CFA volunteers are preparing to wage war on the Labor party as they plan a co-ordinated attack against a union takeover.

A war is looming as the CFA vow to fight the Labor party over the union deal. Picture: Alex Coppel

FURIOUS CFA volunteers are preparing to wage war on the Labor party as they plan a co-ordinated attack against a union takeover.

Volunteer firefighters spent the weekend “hot on the phone” to brigades across the state with the intent of taking their fight to federal candidates in Canberra.

“There will be some action by us for sure,” Meredith volunteer of 55 years Robert Cooke said. “I’ve been on the phone all day, to people in Mildura and in Ballarat.”

Ideas included holding rallies, lobbying federal politicians and even driving hundreds of CFA trucks to Melbourne and throwing the government the keys.

Mr Cooke, whose region was hit by the Scotsburn bushfire in December, was concerned by the prospect of greater union control in remote and regional areas.

“At Scotsburn, when the fire came to Elaine, the wind changed to Clarendon and the paid fellas turned up to the fire station and played cricket in the fire shed — they never went to the fire at all,” he said.

“Once I saw them set up a card table behind a stone fence when the fire was coming their way.

“It’s like taking a goldfish out of water and sitting it on the bench.

“They want the power and to tell us what to do? Well, they can talk until they’re blue in the face, it’s not going to ­happen.”

Firefighters have threatened to quit as fury over the United Firefighters Union deal boils over.

Gerangamete CFA captain David Scott feared “a number of volunteers out there will quit” while Terang captain Mark Cole said a senior lieutenant threatened to throw in the towel at an emergency meeting with 26 volunteers yesterday.

Mr Cole, who has been a volunteer for 40 years, said he had “seen a lot of changes — but I’ve never seen as much ­interference as this”.

“The professional firefighters here in the country are fantastic blokes and women, we have no beef with them,” he said.

“But the UFU has been disrespectful to us, the people of Victoria and cost us a very good emergency services ­minister.”

Despite the dispute, Mr Cole said as long as he had the keys to the station, “we will continue to operate the way we have for the past 114 years for this community”.

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