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Congratulations to CFA members Ivan Smith, Jamie McKenzie and Gary Harker on being awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM) on Australia Day.

Ivan and Jamie are both volunteers, as are several of the members who have been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).

There’s a story on each recipient on the CFA website at http://news.cfa.vic.gov.au/news/top-honours-for-cfa-members.html

The Australian Federal Police have raised the National Terrorism Threat Level for police officers to “HIGH”.

However, Victoria Police advise that there is no change to the threat level for firefighters, which remains at “LOW”.

Click here to see the CFA Chief Officer's advice to all members;

 

Tuesday, 20 January 2015 00:00

BUSHFIRE ASSISTANCE FOR COUNCILS

The State and Federal Governments have announced additional assistance to local councils in areas affected by bushfires in December 2014 and January 2015.

The councils include; Ararat, Benalla, Hindmarsh, Horsham, Mildura, Moira, Southern Grampians, Strathbogie, Wangaratta, West Wimmera and Wodonga.

For details, see the State Government’s media release at http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/additional-disaster-assistance-for-victorian-bushfires

Thursday, 11 December 2014 00:00

The New Government's pre-election commitments

LABOR’S PRE-ELECTION COMMITMENTS

Taken from Labor media releases;

  • $141.3 million to recruit an additional 350 CFA firefighters and 100 Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) firefighters over the next four years
  • Legislation to give career and volunteer firefighters presumptive rights to compensation for cancer claims arising from their service
  • A Parliamentary Inquiry into the pollution, contamination and unsafe practices at the training college at Fiskville to examine health effects on employees
  • Ensure that the Fire Services Property Levy is used to support firefighters and improve emergency response
  • Implement Emergency Medical Response at all integrated CFA stations
  • Re-establish a CFA/MFB Board of Reference to resolve staffing and station needs
  • Examine options for the establishment of a Career Firefighters Registration Board
  • Honour all agreements
  • Also train and equip firefighters with the latest technology to battle brown coal fires
  • Expand support services for firefighters suffering Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • $18 million to purchase 50 new fire trucks… …to fund the new medium tankers in its first budget
  • $1 million to install toilet and wash room facilities at up to 100 rural CFA stations, with grants of up to $25,000 to brigades (while contributions from brigades will be welcomed, they will not be mandatory)
Tuesday, 09 December 2014 00:00

IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR MEMBERS

By Andrew Ford, Chief Executive Officer

On behalf of the VFBV Board I would like to provide the first of a number of important communiques to follow up on the action taken by VFBV in the lead up to the recent Victorian election and concerns about the Labor Party policy announcements impacting on CFA.

Please rest assured that the VFBV Board did not contemplate nor take the recent actions without a great deal of reflection, agonising and analysis. The reality is that it was vitally important for VFBV to raise the concerns, motivated then and now by a firm belief and deep fear that the policy suite announced by Labor includes elements that could have disastrous consequences for CFA and therefore Victoria’s volunteer firefighting capacity.

Firstly may I take this opportunity on behalf of the VFBV Board to thank VFBV Delegates and volunteers across the State for your support and involvement in helping to communicate the VFBV Board’s concerns. The VFBV campaign was delivered very well given the short time frame, the message was put across well and received by those who needed to hear it most.

Sensitive issues such as this can often cause tension and/or be distorted by people with different views or agendas and I am very proud of the way VFBV Delegates and volunteers engaged in calm, constructive messaging; respected the rights of others to have a different viewpoint; and avoided twisting our concerns or targeting individuals.

Members need to be aware that the policy announcement triggering our concerns about surrendering the decision making powers of the CFA Chief Officer to external industrial interference and union-driven process was only made by Labor on 18 November. This meant that our timeframe for activating and explaining our concerns was very tight.

Whilst our campaign activation required short lead times, the concerns expressed by VFBV are not new. Only a few years ago VFBV collected 23,000 signatures petitioning the Legislative Assembly of Victoria to address volunteer concerns about similar industrial interference with CFA.

The recent Jones Inquiry and countless discussions and representations to Government over the past nine years or so provided a deep background to the concern expressed in the VFBV Board open letter.

The overwhelming response from both the general public and our membership has been extremely encouraging, and will provide a good platform for us to continue to pursue our concerns with the new Government, and a base of understanding to work towards fixing the concerns we have raised.

VFBV remains deeply concerned and our energy will now be put to working with our new Minister and MPs across all political parties to find solutions. I have already spoken to several MPs and Government staff about quickly starting a conversation to improve the understanding of the concerns VFBV has raised, and to find a way forward that not only avoids damage to Victoria’s vital volunteer capability, but sustains and strengthens it.

In the lead up to the election, the CFA Chief Officer and others were not able to comment nor discuss the implications of Labor’s CFA-related policy elements, however we do know that in recent years they have been equally troubled by the very same concerns raised by VFBV. VFBV spoke up because no one else could.

CFA have been seeking, over the last few years, to remove this industrial interference and overriding of the Chief Officer’s powers and to ensure the Chief Officer is in charge of determining CFA operational resource needs, volunteer brigade support needs etc. We are aware that CFA did not request the additional paid staff that Labor announced and we know the CFA Board and management are strongly committed to delivering the direction set down in the CFA Act, maintaining CFA as a volunteer based and fully integrated organisation.

VFBV will now focus on working with CFA and Emergency Management Victoria to ensure volunteers are positively and fully engaged in working within the new Government’s policy context to avoid damage to CFA volunteer capability and to educate MPs, key Government decision makers and the community about what is required for the long term success of CFA.

Now that the new Government has been sworn in, I will be seeking an opportunity to meet with our new Minister, The Honourable Jane Garrett, in the next few weeks. I will continue to pursue and explain the concerns raised by the VFBV Board and will be offering our support to finding a solution to our concerns.

It is important to remember that the VFBV campaign in the days leading up to the election was a campaign about a policy with which we have deep concern. In the same way that our strong campaign for presumptive legislation was highly critical of inaction by the previous Coalition Government but was not anti-Coalition, our recent assertive public campaign and our continued approach on this issue needs to remain focused on the concerns we have about this policy and the way it has been constructed, not party political.

I have said many times that these concerns are not about being anti-paid staff, and are not about being anti-union. CFA members, paid and volunteer alike, working together as one integrated team is vital for effective fire and emergency services to Victoria. Nothing in VFBV’s recent campaign was about detracting from the value of CFA paid firefighters and nothing was about criticising the union pursing the best possible pay and conditions for their members.

I urge all members to stay focussed on the real issues of concern and that is that VFBV believes there should not be external industrial interference with the CFA Chief Officer’s power to decide where and when and how he uses CFA firefighters. VFBV is very concerned about any policy or motivation that wittingly or unwittingly erodes Victoria’s volunteer firefighting capacity, and VFBV is strongly opposed to industrial agreements that override CFA decision making and unfairly impact on the rights and support of volunteers.

On a brighter note, other policy announcements made by Labor included additional CFA fleet funding, the introduction of presumptive cancer legislation for both career and volunteer firefighters, and additional funding for the fire station amenities program.

Some of the detail on these issues is still patchy and I will provide more as soon as I have it. With regard to fleet funding, I will be writing to the Minister to clarify whether the additional $18M is an annual base funding adjustment consistent with our advice about CFA’s annual base funding shortfall for fleet replacement, or whether it is a one-off, in which case our old problem has not been resolved.

I will also be following up to confirm that the intention is not to treat volunteers differently from career firefighters with regard to presumptive cancer legislation, as has been done in the Tasmanian legislation referred to in Labor’s announcements.

I can assure you VFBV will work hard to find the best way forward and in the meantime we will also stay focussed on the many other challenges and opportunities ahead for CFA.

Please pass on this thanks and update to your networks and stay tuned for some further advice in the coming weeks.

The upcoming bushfire season is traditionally a period of high visibility and a showcase of CFA professionalism and dedication. As in years past, VFBV will continue to represent your interests, so you can continue to do the vital work of protecting our communities in their time of need.

Tuesday, 09 December 2014 00:00

OPEN FORUM HIGHLY ENGAGING

VFBV’s final Open Forum for the year was held at Burwood, and was given the thumbs up by attendees, as highly engaging and well worth attending.  

The CFA Chief Officer, CFA CEO, CFA ED OT&V, Emergency Management Commissioner and VFBV President and CEO were all taking part in the panel session and talking shop with volunteers throughout the afternoon, and were able to deal with many questions and queries on the spot.  

The Forum came just a week before the State Election, so the future of CFA and the EM Sector was high on the list, and volunteer views were canvassed and discussed.

The panel session also tackled issues including female PPC, better organisation of strike teams to reduce waiting time, strike teams working in community recovery, improving communication within CFA, better access to information technology for volunteers, uniforms, and concerns with CFA’s plans for FEM administration cost recovery from Brigades.  

The Open Forums are an important link with grass roots volunteers, and provide opportunities for CFA senior management to connect directly with volunteers and discuss matters important to them. VFBV thanks all attendees to this year’s three forums and those who participated in the panel discussions.   See pictures (right) from the VFBV Volunteer Forum in November, which included speakers and a panel discussion and question session.

Tuesday, 09 December 2014 00:00

2015 AUSTRALASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Expressions of interest are now open for Victorian Brigades wishing to compete in the 20 15 Australasian Firefighter Championships.

The Championships will be held at Echuca on 24/25 October 20 15, and the closing date for EOIs is 1 March 2015.

The Australasian Championships comprise 10 events with 30 teams from Victoria, NSW, South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and New Zealand.

It’s set to be a great weekend with top level competition and will be good value for competitors and spectators alike. To enquire about lodging an Expression of Interest, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call VFBV on (03) 9886 1141.

Tuesday, 09 December 2014 00:00

Female Fit PPC Update

Members would remember in the October edition of our Newsletter & the Fireman, the advice that elastic waisted bushfire PPC was available that had been specifically designed to suit female members who may have difficulty wearing braces. This advice followed discussions between VFBV and CFA’s CEO and Chief Officer, who assured us that female members could exchange their existing PPC as a basic entitlement and that it would not be subject to District approval.

Following our article, VFBV received calls from female members who had tried to access the new PPC from their local CFA stores, only to be turned away. Advice given to members has ranged from – it is only available to new members, it is only available if you can demonstrate your existing PPC is unserviceable or damaged, or that it is not available due to budget cuts.

VFBV has been advocating for female fit PPC since 2004, and our position has always been female members are entitled to garments that have been specifically designed to cater for their needs and comfort, and they should not need to justify nor fight for what should be a basic entitlement. The Chief Officer has agreed, and was shocked at what was occurring in some Districts.

VFBV knows that it often takes time for CFA policy messages to filter down through Regions and Districts. We also know that sometimes volunteers get the run around at the local level when Regions or Districts put their own interpretation on corporate policy and apply their own extra barriers and red tape. This is not acceptable to us, and thankfully nor to CFA Executive. After hearing VFBV’s concerns, the Chief Officer has reissued a Memo to all District Offices and OM/OO’s instructing that female fit bushfire PPC is available to all new members, and current members may exchange their existing ensemble. Current members do not have to wait until their current PPC reaches end of life.

A copy of the Chiefs memo is available below. Any members who have difficulty accessing female fit PPC through the Districts are invited to contact the Chief Officer directly, who has promised to follow up any instances personally. You can email him directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Details can be found http://news.cfa.vic.gov.au/news/reminder-of-female-ppc.html

Monday, 01 December 2014 00:00

2015 Australasian Firefighter Championships

COMPETE IN THE 2015 AUSTRALASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Expressions of interest are sought from interested Victorian Brigades to compete in the 2015 Australasian Firefighter Championships to be held at Echuca on 24 & 25 October 2015.

Closing date to the VFBV office is 1 March 2015.

Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (03) 9886 1141.

Wednesday, 26 November 2014 00:00

A message from Fireman Sam

The following letter has been received from regular contributor to
"The Fireman", Fireman Sam.

Mr Andrew Ford
CEO
VFBV

25.11.2014

Dear Andrew

I would not normally make a request like this because I have ample opportunity to express my opinions in my regular column in The Fireman, however, time is of the essence in this case. I am wondering whether you can use your networks to urgently convey my concerns to volunteers about the negative impact that the proposed appointment of 350 additional paid firefighting staff will have on the CFA as we know it.   

Over the years I have often drawn attention to government interference and meddling. Most recently, I compared the emergence of EMV with the 30 year old attempts to amalgamate CFA and MFB. Some of these Spring Street influences are consistent with CFA’s own planning and culture, others are not.

As with wildfires, a rapid response in sufficient force is essential to containment of the UFU wildfire that threatens the future viability of CFA as we know it.  We do not need another 350 paid firefighters over the next 4 years. If we did I am sure that the Chief Officer and the Authority would have been seeking them.

The appointments of so many additional paid firefighters poses a real threat to every country community and to the city interface areas. When Victoria burns, as we all know it will, I wonder where we will find the small army of volunteers that we currently are able to draw on from the outer metro areas, the so called “surge capacity” that CFA has come to rely on.

Appointment of additional paid firefighters in our existing stations has proven to be a recipe for fewer volunteers. The UFU know this and thru its connections with Labor is once again wanting to usurp the roles of the Board and of the Chief Officer. Why? Because it will help to achieve the UFU’s stated objective of a “career based firefighting service to cover the whole of the Melbourne urban area and other major regional centres”.

This is not a good policy framework for the Fire Service, nor is it in the best interests of the safety of the people of Victoria. The same type of union influence can also be seen in announcements made relating to the Ambulance Service.

We are saddled with, and have experienced for several years now, the frustrations and barriers caused by the restrictive clauses in the current staff EBA. They do not benefit the people of Victoria. They certainly don’t benefit the CFA as an organisation. That is the consequence of enabling a vested interest to have undue influence on decisions and processes that should rightfully be those of the Chief Officer and the Authority.

We need a government that will support the CFA in meeting the needs of volunteers, that understands country communities and the people that live in them. We need a government that will adhere to the purpose and provisions of the legislation that established the CFA, one that understands that the Chief Officer and the Authority are best placed to determine staffing and infrastructure needs.

If you need further evidence that 350 additional paid firefighters would be a bad thing for CFA consider the requirement for massive expenditure on new stations, extensions to existing ones, vehicles, etc.  We are seeing that with the employment of the current UFU inspired growth. Wherever the money comes from you can be sure that it will be detrimental to the slice of the cake directed to volunteer needs. 

The organisations ability to cater for the needs of volunteers, to provide our protective equipment and clothing, to manage and conduct our training will continue to be compromised. We will continue to feel that we are treated as second class firies.

Our integrated model is the envy of others. We need to make sure that our communities understand that there is a real downside to what Mr Andrews has announced. On the surface it sounds like a great idea. We know that it contains a real threat to the independence of the CFA, to our future capability and to the safety of our communities.

You have only until this Saturday to make sure that your community understands the hidden threats in the UFU’s grand plan. Don’t let UFU wishful thinking become CFA reality.

Andrew, I trust that what I am saying is not too out of step with VFBV’s own perspectives on these issues and that you will be sympathetic to my request for help.  The matter is too important to not do something.
Yours sincerely,

Fireman Sam

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CFA Volunteers are the unpaid professionals of our Emergency Services. VFBV is their united voice, and speaks on behalf of Victoria's 60,000 CFA Volunteers.

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