Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Cameron, if I could just of course raise with you that the clause that is currently in the agreement—'dispatched' as opposed to 'must be at the fire ground'—that is still of great concern to the VFBV. What it basically means is that paid firefighters cannot assist volunteers until at least seven paid firefighters have been dispatched. Senator Cameron, I understand you have been to the hearings. You would have heard the evidence given that, in relation to the paid firefighters and the volunteer firefighters, there are approximately—as you know—60,000 volunteer firefighters and approximately 800 operational paid firefighters. The paid firefighters are specifically, under the Victorian CFA legislation, there to assist the volunteer firefighters. That is how the Victorian situation is set up.

In relation to the clause, as it currently stands, there are still grave concerns highlighted by the VFBV. If I could take you to them, clause 43.2.7 and 77.5 of the proposed CFA enterprise agreement require that a minimum of seven professional firefighters are dispatched to fireground incidents before commencement of safe firefighting operations. So what do the volunteers—the men and women who for decades now have put their lives on the line to ensure that the communities in Victoria are safe—say the meaning of that, potentially, is? It means that volunteers can themselves begin fighting a fire. They can get to the fireground. If the fire is there, they can begin fighting the fire. But, in relation to paid firefighters, what will now occur is that paid firefighters cannot join them until seven paid firefighters are dispatched.

In terms of the practical effect of this clause on the ground, when you are in a situation of potential complete catastrophe, where a fire is burning, where you have a protocol that has been put in place, the practical impacts, as advised by Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria, are:

So, Senator Cameron, yes, you want to make political points. Yes, you do not want to stand up and side with some of the magnificent men and women who are sitting here today in the gallery watching these proceedings. They do not know what the calls they get tomorrow will be, but I am quite sure, Senator Cameron, that you and I would not want to receive those calls in a million years. The calls they get are the calls which say: 'Can you please get out there. There is an emergency, and we need you on the ground. Drop everything. Drop your day job and get out there and risk your life.' They have concerns with the practical impact of this clause.

Yes, Senator Cameron, you are right. The United Firefighters Union have put forward evidence in terms of why they say this particular clause is necessary. But the volunteers, who are the people on the ground every other day of the week, have serious concerns with that clause and the fact that, ultimately, it may compromise the firefighting operation on the ground.