Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Right across rural and regional Australia, country fire brigades serve a very significant and important purpose, particularly in times of natural disaster. They come to the fore not just for bushfires but for floods and other disasters that seem to regularly afflict parts of this country. Those brigades are also in existence in parts of our suburban cities of this country, including the semi-rural parts of my electorate of Menzies, with the brigades of Warrandyte, Wonga Park, Eltham and Kangaroo Ground, amongst others.

In the past, when I was growing up as a child in the country, the Country Fire Authority local brigades were the male preserves. It was entirely men who served on those brigade. Thankfully, that is changing, as with a lot of other things. I acknowledge the story in the latest monthly edition of the Warrandyte Diary about what's been happening at the Warrandyte CFA brigade, which currently has 10 female volunteers, the majority of whom regularly respond to emergencies, day and night, and provide active support in many other ways.

Of course, women also bring an important set of skills to firefighting, just as men do. Some of Warrandyte's female members have taken on years of specialist training, qualifying them to manage a broader scope of roles during an emergency. The skill sets these women hold are quite expansive, with roles in training, recruitment, community education and officer positions. A few are also CFA staff supporting other volunteer brigades around the state. They can be called upon to perform extra duties during large scale bushfire events and to manage emergency warning from the incident control centres.

Warrandyte CFA recruited its first female firefighter in 1981, when the station was moved to its current location on Harris Gully Road. Prior to that, women who attempted to apply were rejected by the captain of the time, with the cited reason that the old station had no female facilities. Thankfully, that has all changed now. According to a former captain, now deputy group officer, Shane Murphy, the introduction of women to the brigade has promoted a positive cultural change. Mr Murphy said, 'more respectful attitudes were adopted towards everyone, not just the women.' I think that's a great development.

In 1996, the Warrandyte CFA elected its first female lieutenant, Kate Murphy, who is still a current member. Since then, and still to this day, women have held several leadership roles in Warrandyte CFA, both in officer positions and within the brigade management team. I congratulate all of those involved, particularly the women of Warrandyte and those throughout Victoria, who contribute to preserving our safety through the CFA.