Background
Most members are by now aware of the Victorian Governments proposal to restructure the CFA
and MFB announced on Friday 19th May 2017.
Since the announcement there has been much debate about the rush, secrecy, poor process and hidden agenda motivating the change proposal. The proposal is being pushed by the spin
doctors as a ‘modernisation of the fire services’ despite open acknowledgement by the Minister for Emergency Services James Merlino that it is motivated by desire by the Government to find a way for the Operational Staff EBA to be pushed ahead without having to have regard on the impacts on how CFA works as a volunteer based and fully integrated organisation.
There has been, and remains to this day, significant concern about:
- the lack of consultation as per
the Volunteer Charter and CFA Act
- no detail and no implementation plans
- no impact analysis or cost benefit/analysis
- and no
justification for the proposed changes other than spin and motherhood statements
Despite the complete lack of consultation or engagement with not only volunteers, but also the CFA and MFB themselves, the Government announced its legislation on the 19th May 2017 (‘The Firefighters Presumptive Rights Compensation and Fire Service Legislation Amendment
(Reform) Bill 2017’) and then pushed it though the Victorian Parliament’s lower house on 6th June 2017 hoping to avoid any detailed analysis or public scrutiny.
Upper House Inquiry Invites Submissions
After using the Governments numbers to get the legislation through the lower house (Legislative Assembly), the legislation has been held up by the Upper House (Legislative Council) – and is yet to gain the support required. Last week, the Opposition with the support of many of the cross bench
referred the legislation to a Select Committee established to examine the legislation and seek comment from people with an interest and expertise on the issues.
The Select Committee timeframes are very tight and key deadlines are as
follows:
PUBLIC SUBMISSIONS to be submitted prior to the 7th July 2017;
SELECT COMMITTEE REPORT to Parliament no later the 8th August 2017
Terms of
Reference
The Terms of Reference of the committee are:
That —
A Select Committee of eight Members be appointed to inquire into, consider and report, no later than 8 August 2017, on the restructuring of Victoria’s fire
services as contemplated by the Firefighters’ Presumptive Rights Compensation and Fire Services Legislation Amendment (Reform) Bill 2017 and, in particular, the —
- impact on fire service delivery across Victoria
- effect on volunteer engagement and participation in fire service delivery
- short term and long term cost impact on fire service provision
- underlying policy rationale.
Volunteer and Community Submissions Needed
It is critically important that the committee receive as many submissions as possible from individual
volunteers, Brigades, Groups and others in the community with an interest in CFA and CFA’s future.
VFBV will be making representation to the committee and will use the extensive feedback and concern raised by volunteers across the state over
the last year as the basis for our submission but it is most important that the committee hear from as many volunteers as possible.
Your submissions can be as short or as detailed as you like. Many of you have already been actively writing to
VFBV and MPs across the state and it is important that these messages be sent again directly to the committee.
VFBV, volunteers and others have been actively campaigning for the legislation to be rejected or at a minimum subject to
detailed and transparent scrutiny and consultation prior to a decision being made. There is a legal obligation to consult with volunteers under the CFA Act BEFORE decisions are made on matters that impact on them and there is a moral and governance obligation to ensure the changes stand the test of full and transparent scrutiny and impact analysis BEFORE decisions are made. The CFA Act as we know it today was formed and developed following an extensive Royal Commission and public
hearings and scrutiny and involvement across the entire emergency services sector. The legislation being proposed by the Government has been cooked up by a small secret group working inside the Premier’s Office, and either lacks any detail or explanation because they would prefer we didn’t know the details, or they just haven’t got around to it yet. If the devil is in the detail – that would explain why they will not provide us with it.
There is wide spread concern about the impacts of the proposals fundamental change to the nature of CFA and there are still many unanswered questions. Your submissions can be as broad or detailed as you like but all submissions are important because they will help ensure the
committee understand the deep concerns volunteers have not just with the failed consultation process but also the other fundamental and backward step changes such as dismantling the existing fully integrated model of volunteers and paid firefighters working together as one CFA team; the negative impact on the volunteer culture by removing CFA’s existing paid operational management staff (your Operations Officers and Operations Managers), and all your staff Instructors from CFA into a separate
organisation to be known as Fire Rescue Victoria and then contracting them back into CFA. Not to mention carving up the current CFA and hiving off the 35 integrated CFA brigades to become small FRV islands dotted across Victoria and controlled and run by a fully staffed organisation.
Please note the concerns we have now are not dissimilar to the concerns that have been raised over the last year or so….so if you made a submission to the previous senate inquiry (September last year) – many of the concerns that were raised in that process remain the same today… no need to ‘reinvent the wheel’… a quick email search for that submission and a few relevant edits may only take you a few minutes and you shall have a submission
ready to send to this committee!
You are encouraged to collaborate within your VFBV District networks, peers and encourage others to also make submissions.
A comment that was made at VFBV State Council meeting on Sunday sums the concerns of many up effectively as follows:
Victoria is one of the most bushfire prone areas in the world – there is no disputing that! The government is planning on ‘winging it’ – proposing a fundamentally flawed piece of legislation that has very little detail – is vague, and offers more questions than answers, with no consultation with anyone in the emergency management sector and with no transparent research around how the reforms will
improve service delivery.
A bad solution won’t fix anything. The Victorian fire service – with our mission of protecting lives and property…. is too important an issue to get it wrong.
Once again, I urge all members to take the time to make a submission to the Inquiry and also urge you to continue your approaches, letters and messages to all Victorian MPs – even if you have already written it is important that you keep the message fresh in their minds – repeat it and repeat it again until this
issue is resolved properly.
How to make a Submission
Attached to this is a brochure detailing how to give written evidence to a parliamentary committee.
Submissions can be lodged in one of three
ways:
- Emailing your submission to [email protected]
- Using the
eSubmission form on the committee’s website:
http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/fireservicesbill/inquiries/article/3790 - Posting your submission to:
Assistant Clerk Committees
Department of the Legislative Council
Fire Services Bill Select Committee
Parliament House, Spring Street
EAST MELBOURNE VIC 3002
All submissions should include:
- Your full name
- Contact details (either a postal address or phone
number)
- The text of your submission or an attachment containing your submission
- A clear indication if you are seeking confidentiality
Consider sending us a copy so we know the issues you have raised.
All submissions are public documents (and may be published on the Committee’s website) unless confidentiality is requested and granted by the
Committee.
Thank you for your support to date but please continue the effort
I want to take this opportunity to thank everybody for the work you have done over the past months, particularly the
work that has been done to ensure the community, decision makers and MPs understand volunteers concerns and disappointment in the failure of the Government to consult with us on this important matter. The journey is by no means over and we are going to need to dig deep and redouble our efforts to keep the momentum up and to ensure our voice is heard.
Additional information that you may find useful
This link shows a short video on how parliamentary committees work:
VFBV’s latest news note includes legal advice around Cancer compensation, and can be used as a basis for your submission:
