By Casey Neill
The CFA has welcomed fire services law reforms introduced to the Victorian Parliament.
The State Government put forward the legislation on Wednesday 29 May.
It said the new Fire Rescue Victoria would cover the existing Metropolitan Fire Brigade boundaries and serve metropolitan Melbourne, outer urban areas and larger regional centres.
Boundaries will be altered to reflect population growth, a change the State Government said fire services had requested for a long time.
CFA volunteers serving at integrated stations can choose to stay there, co-locating with Fire Rescue Victoria services.
The State Government said the 1220 volunteer CFA brigades would be untouched.
CFA acting CEO/CO Gavin Freeman said the reforms were a great opportunity to improve fire services to the whole community.
The State Government said the Firefighters’ Presumptive Rights Compensation and Fire Services Legislation Amendment (Reform) Bill 2019 would also provide presumptive rights to cancer compensation for career and volunteer firefighters.
“This means all firefighters will have greater certainty in being able to access compensation benefits for specified cancers,” Mr Freeman said.
He said CFA members would be front of mind for the organisation’s leadership team as it worked through the changes.
“We commit to engaging extensively with volunteers, career firefighters and staff through the process,” he said.
But Gembrook MP and Shadow Emergency Services Minister Brad Battin said the State Government was “again trying to ram legislation through the Parliament to break up the CFA and put the lives and safety of Victorians at risk”.
He said the Premier “did not have the courage” to bring it to Parliament before the federal election because he knew the Fire Rescue Victoria legislation was wrong.
“It disrespects volunteers, it fixes no problems and delivers no increase to community safety,” he said.
Victoria’s firefighting structures have not changed since the 1950s.
The new model will not come into effect until mid-2020, which will mean no change for the 2019-‘20 fire season.
An implementation monitor will oversee the reforms and Fire Rescue Victoria and the CFA operations for 10 years.
