Media release – Tasmanian Liberals, 22 April 2021
State Fire Commission To Continue
The Premier has re-assured the United Firefighters Union that a re-elected majority Gutwein Liberal Government will not abolish the State Fire Commission.
In a letter to the Union’s Senior Industrial Organiser, Leigh Hills, Mr Gutwein said, “A re-elected Majority Liberal Government will not abolish the State Fire Commission.”
In addition, the Premier made it clear that the Government remains firmly of the view that funding collected by the State Fire Commission for the operation of the Tasmania Fire Service must continue to be ‘ring fenced’ into the future.
“We want to ensure that fire service funding per person in Tasmania remains well above the national average,” Mr Gutwein said.
In his letter Mr Gutwein asked Mr Hills to allay any concerns his member may have about the future of the Commission and let them know the Tasmanian Liberals greatly value the commitment and hard work undertaken by career and volunteer firefighters.
In his letter the Premier also pointed out that the Tasmanian Liberals in government have invested significant funds into the State Fire Commission, on top of the revenue the Commission receives from its statutory sources.
Our investment includes:
- $3.75 million for three new state of the art aerial appliances;
- $55 million for fuel reduction burns, an important program led by the TFS to reduce the threat of bushfire to our communities and provide a greater opportunity for firefighters, be they volunteers or career, to safely tackle fires when they occur; and
- $8 million for the creation of a new TFS Division to focus on bushfire management planning and volunteers.
We know that firefighters are on the frontline everyday working hard to keep our communities safe.
Jen Butler MP, Shadow Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management, 22 April 2021
Labor locks in future of Tasmanian fire service
Labor has today guaranteed the future of Tasmania’s career and volunteer fire service, with the unveiling of a new firefighters and emergency services policy.
Today’s announcement includes the establishment of two new permanent fire crews in Burnie and Devonport with 40 additional firefighters and an additional fire truck, providing greater capacity to respond to natural disasters and road accidents in the North West.
Earlier this week Labor Leader Rebecca White signed the United Fire Union’s Tasmanian Fire Safety Pledge for more crews, more support for volunteers and a statutory authority of the State Fire Commission.
Shadow Fire and Emergency Management Minister Jen Butler said only Labor was working for Tasmania’s firefighters and the communities they protect.
“Permanent and volunteer firefighters put their lives on the line for us when we need them most,” Ms Butler said.
“We need to do everything we can to keep them safe too, which is why Labor will end the failed Liberal amalgamation experiment, committing to never force the amalgamation of volunteer brigades, including by stealth.
“Labor will also uphold the standalone fire statutory authority to ensure people with firefighting experience are the ones making decisions around fire response capabilities and needs.
“Tasmanians deserve more firefighters with better equipment and that is exactly what you will get under a Labor Government.”
Ms Butler said this announcement would support our Tasmanian Firefighters and Emergency Service personnel, who are our most valuable weapon in keeping communities safe.
“We have listened to the feedback from career and volunteer brigades across the state and they are telling us there is a lack of focus on the needs and capabilities of our fire service,” Ms Butler said.
“More than $3.15 million would be invested to install life-saving halo systems on all firefighting vehicles and we will invest in 12 additional field officers to provide support to volunteer brigades across each fire districts.
“Labor will also immediately implement a testing system to monitor the health of firefighters that have been exposed to PFAS and review our national commitments on this issue.
“Given Tasmanians rely on our firefighters to keep our communities safe, both during emergencies and through ongoing work to prevent emergencies in the first place, we cannot afford four more years of Liberal cuts.”
Media release – Stephen McCallum, Industrial Organiser, UFU Tasmania, 22 April 2021
Liberals Misleading, Out of Touch with TFS
“Yesterday, the government denied that cancer causing chemicals known as PFAS are still in use in the TFS. This is a blatant lie and we have evidence to prove it. PFAS, specifically Tridol continues to be stored for used by TFS. Firefighters were advised as recently as today that they can still be required to use PFAS under current TFS policy. TFS is the last fire service in Australia still using PFAS foams.
“Yesterday afternoon, the Premier wrote to the UFU advising that the State Fire Commission will not be removed. The issue at hand is the statutory authority of the State Fire Commission. The Premier has not made any commitment to retain the statutory authority of the State Fire Commission. The Premier is either poorly informed about this issue, or has sought to be misleading in his correspondence.
“The Liberal Party is the only party that has not signed a pledge to retain the statutory authority of the State Fire Commission. Peter Gutwein needs to explain why he is refusing to sign a pledge to this effect.
“Minister Shelton later published a media release published today, which echoed the Premier’s remarks that they will not remove the State Fire Commission, but again failed to clearly state that they would not remove the statutory authority of the State Fire Commission. It is difficult to believe that Minister Shelton does not have the relevant depth of knowledge to understand the detail of issues within his portfolio. We can only conclude that Minister Shelton sought to intentionally mislead the public over his intentions to remove the statutory authority of the State Fire Commission.
“We cannot trust any political party to run the fire service. It must be run by experts who cannot be ignored at the whim of a politician. It is past time for the Liberal party to pledge that they will not seek to remove the statutory authority of the State Fire Commission.
