Andrews douses CFA fears
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is hoping the state’s latest bargaining agreement while appease the volunteer fire-fighting outfit, the CFA.
The Government has been at war with the CFA’s board over a controversial new pay deal for professional fire-fighters.
The CFA is concerned that the government wants to give too much power to the United Firefighters Union.
It was claimed that the new deal sought to push more professional fire-fighters to replace volunteers at the state’s shared stations, but Mr Andrews says that is “nonsense”.
Of a total 1,200 local brigades across the state, just 34 feature a mix of paid firefighters and volunteers.
Mr Andrews says the new agreement will add 350 new paid positions at the shared stations.
“Those 34 integrated stations in the growth corridors of Melbourne, in big regional centres, where volunteers and career fire-fighters, all professional, all committed, they work together to keep their community safe,” he told the ABC.
“Our volunteers are absolute heroes … but this notion that if you're a paid fire-fighter and you dare be a member of the union, you're a somehow a thug, I won't have that. It's just wrong.
Mr Andrews said volunteer positions would not be compromised.
“Who would want to do that [compromise volunteer safety]? Of course we would never do that. I think these changes, more fire-fighters turning out to dangerous fires, far from compromising safety, that will enhance safety,” he said.
The Premier said the CFA needed a cultural change.
“We've got a human rights and equal opportunity commission report from last year that is scathing, we've got the fallout from Fiskville and the terribly incompetent way that was handled,” he said.
“There are many, many challenges in the CFA and they need to be addressed, and a new board will be appointed and they will be able to address those issues.”