Jane Garrett breaks ranks on fireys’ bullying report

Former emergency services minister Jane Garrett has broken ranks to back the release of a review into bullying and sexism in the fire services.

The Victorian upper house voted Wednesday to compel the Andrews Government to table the report in parliament. Picture: Alan Barber

Former emergency services minister Jane Garrett has broken ranks to back the release of a review into bullying and sexism in the fire services.

The Victorian upper house voted Wednesday to compel the Andrews Government to table in parliament a Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission report that was suppressed by the Court of Appeal in 2018.

The government has resisted releasing the report, saying the court decided that the probe was incorrectly commissioned and should have been ordered by the CFA or MFB.

It comes after the Herald Sun revealed allegations of sexism and bullying raised by a suburban female firefighter.

Former emergency services minister Jane Garrett. Picture: David Caird

Ms Garrett, who is an upper house MP, was emergency services Minister between 2014 and 2016 before resigning rather than sign off on a new CFA workplace agreement.
She said outside parliament she wasn’t sure how the report could be released given the court suppression in place but that it would be “in everyone’s interest that the report comes out”.

“I’m not sure that’s even possible but I know the government was disappointed when it wasn’t released at the time and I’m sure people feel that way now,” she said.

“I’d just like to make sure that women feel protected in the workplace.

“Lots of workplaces have gone through this and this is just another one … This is a really well worn path.”

The state opposition put forward the motion calling for the release of the VEOHRC review, which was ordered by the Andrews government in its first term after a separate fire services inquiry exposed workplace culture problems.

The militant United Firefighters Union, which was in a battle with the government at the time over a new enterprise agreement for the CFA and MFB, successfully argued in court that only a firefighting agency had the power to order such a probe.

The Herald Sun revealed in 2017 that investigators at VEOHRC were told by former firefighters about hazing rituals where women were told to strip naked, that porn was hanging in kitchen cupboards, and that there had been allegations of bullying and harassment.

The government insists it has acted on recommendations from the report, even though the public has not been able to see what they were.