Federal election 2016: Bill Shorten likely to face resentment over Labor’s handling of CFA dispute

BILL Shorten has been tackled by an AFL legend over the ongoing CFA dispute which has divided Victorian communities.

BILL Shorten has been tackled by AFL legend Jonathan Brown over the ongoing CFA dispute which has divided Victorian communities.

The three-time Brisbane Lions premiership star — who hails from southwest Victoria — shirtfronted the Labor leader over the issue on radio in Melbourne this morning.

Brown asked Mr Shorten if he was worried about losing votes in country Victoria because of the ongoing dispute between the State Government and the CFA over its new agreement for full-time firefighters.

Volunteers believe the new deal would see them sidelined from fighting fires throughout the state.

Jonathan Brown chats with firefighters battling the Black Saturday blaze in 2009.

Brown told Mr Shorten he thought his community of Warrnambool would be support the Coalition over the issue.

Mr Shorten said he was confident “peace will be restored”.

“Voting for Malcolm Turnbull doesn’t change anything about what’s happening at the CFA,” he told Nova FM.

“I think there will be a solution.”

He said volunteers were “the heart of the CFA” and believed the State Government would find a solution where volunteers would be “respected, maintained and enhanced”.

“The reason I’m confident about a solution is I’ve seen what the volunteers did after Black Saturday,” Mr Shorten said.

Brown has a kick with firefighters.

“I also know what the full-time firefighters do for the CFA. There’s more good will and shared interests than there are things that divide them.”

Mr Shorten is likely to come face to face with growing community resentment over the Andrews Labor Government’s handling of the CFA dispute, when he campaigns in Victoria today.

It will be the first full day the Opposition Leader has spent campaigning in the state since anger erupted over the proposal being pushed by Premier Daniel Andrews for the union takeover of the CFA.

Mr Shorten has not visited Corangamite to campaign alongside candidate Libby Coker in more than a month, despite the seat being on a knife’s edge.

He has not visited any marginal Victorian seats in that time, and if he avoids the marginals on Tuesday will be accused of running scared of the toxic dispute, which he has tried to dismiss as a state issue.

It comes as marginal seat polling shown to the Herald Sun revealed strong voter sentiment against Labor over the proposed deal.

Robo pollsters MediaReach polled 700 households in six marginal seats — Bendigo, Ballarat, Corangamite, Dunkley, La Trobe and McEwen — last Thursday.

It found 65 per cent of those polled did not support “the Andrews Government’s attempt to unionise CFA volunteers’’, while 16 per cent did support it, and 18 per cent did were undecided.

Asked: “will the government’s attempt to unionise the CFA volunteers make you more or less likely to vote Labor at the federal election on July 2’’, 52 per cent of respondents said they would be less likely to vote Labor, while 12 per cent said they would be more likely, and 30 per cent said it would not affect their vote.

It is not known who paid for the polling.

Premier Daniel Andrews and Martene Kairouz after Martene was elected the new Conumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulations Minister. Picture: Elle Smith

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HEAD OF CFA PLEADS WITH VOLUNTEERS TO STAY

FULL IMPACT OF CFA TAKEOVER REVEALED

The Coalition, which has vowed to legislate to protect the CFA from a union takeover, continued to campaign on the issue on Monday.

Workplace Relations Minister Michaelia Cash met CFA volunteers at Emerald alongside Liberal marginal seat holder Jason Wood in La Trobe.

It also emerged on Monday that taxpayers could foot a $700 million bill for the CFA deal with the United Firefighters Union, which would “put people’s lives in danger,” according to former CFA chairman John Peberdy.

The cost is far above the $140 million flagged by the State Government.

“The figure I have been given by our chief of the CFA is $600-$700 million,’’ Mr Peberdy said. He warned the Premier was “clearly aligned with the unions’’.

STICK WITH OUR FIREY VOLUNTEER HEROES

THE Herald Sun is giving you a chance to show your support for Victoria’s Country Fire Authority volunteers with a free BACK THE CFA sticker.

From Wednesday, Victorians can pick up the sticker at participating newsagents while stocks last. Many of the 60,000 CFA volunteers are concerned about their future in the wake of a controversial government deal they fear will hand control of the volunteer organisation to the United Firefighters Union.

So declare your support for the volunteers by grabbing a free sticker or two to BACK THE CFA.

For a list of participating newsagents go to heraldsun.com.au/promotions

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