VFBV

This news note is to inform you of some public messaging just launched by VFBV.

The messaging is part of a range of things being progressively developed by VFBV to help the public:

·         better understand the range and extent of the work CFA Volunteers do to keep our community safe,

·         learn about how they can help CFA Volunteers by being prepared in case of emergency, and

·         have more “skin in the game” by actively engaging with us as Supporters of CFA Volunteers.

As CFA members already know, predictions are that we are facing a very challenging fire season. Many Brigades have already attended more incidents than usual for this time of year and assuming that trend continues over the next few months, it is important to use every available tool to raise public awareness of the heightened fire risk.

Like every year, VFBV encourages our community to ‘think like a volunteer’ and ‘do their bit to support CFA’ by being prepared and staying vigilant over the hotter months. This year, we have produced two audio messages voiced by VFBV State President Nev Jones that will be played on various radio stations across Victoria until summer. If you would like to listen to them now, please use the links below:

Please tell your colleagues and networks that these messages are playing on radio and circulate the links above to ensure everyone is aware and can positively reinforce Nev’s messages whenever possible.

As well as the safety messages that are critical at this time of year, we can’t ignore that Victoria goes to the polls on 24 November. VFBV isn’t political in that we don’t “pick sides”, but we do have a very important role in making sure that any proposed policy is in the best interests of the safety of our communities.

Because of that, it is also important for all of us to remind the community about the capacity, value and essential nature of CFA volunteers and the current CFA model.

The CFA community embedded and volunteer based model, with volunteers and paid CFA staff working together as one team is the best model for Victoria.  As CFA volunteers we also know the current CFA model is the only model capable of mobilising the enormous resources required to deal with major, concurrent and long duration fires experienced almost every Victorian summer. 

The fact is that all major fire services reviews, including the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission, recognised the vital importance of the current CFA model, and in particular, the importance of:

1. The flexibility and capacity of CFA that exists because of its fully integrated paid and volunteer model, to continually evolve and adapt to meet changing risk circumstances and growing community service demands;
   
   
2. CFAs highly trained and prepared volunteer surge capacity able to be mobilised from volunteer brigades across Melbourne’s outer metropolitan area, provincial towns and CFAs network of almost 1200 brigades;
   
   
3. the value of CFA’s major incident management experience and local knowledge that exists within CFA’s vast volunteer resource;the importance of the CFA model as a fundamental foundation of community capacity and resilience; and
   
   
4. the importance of respecting and recognising the value and professionalism of the work performed by CFA volunteers.
    

Unfortunately, some politicians and others with influence over them, have spent much of the past four years repeatedly telling the public that the CFA model no longer works, is stuck in the past, is outdated and somehow second-rate compared to a paid firefighter model.

While it’s obvious to us that it is not the model that needs to be changed, the repetition of this spin and political argy-bargy has left much of the public confused and with less confidence in our incredible service.

In the coming days we will provide a further update about the election in relation the CFA and CFA Volunteers, including tools and information for the public to use to understand the key issues for CFA Volunteers.

In the meantime, please encourage your colleagues and friends to visit www.SupportCFAVolunteers.com.au and register as a Supporter of CFA Volunteers to ensure they are kept informed of issues of importance to us as they evolve in the months and years ahead.

Links to Nev’s audio:

https://supportcfavolunteers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Nev181025A.wav 

https://supportcfavolunteers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Nev181025B.wav 

VFBV has been advised by VEOHRC  that the Commission has decided not to apply to the High Court for special leave to appeal the Court of Appeal decision which stopped the release of the VEOHRC report into MFB and CFA. The Commission has expressed their disappointed that the report was blocked from being published and have advised that the Court of Appeal decision means that the Commission must stop working on the review and cannot publish the final report. 

The VEOHRC Commissioner has acknowledged the frustration that this will cause the thousands of individuals who bravely shared their personal stories of harassment, intimidation and discrimination and has expressed  her extreme disappointment that the court result means that these insights may never be used for positive change.  VFBV will continue to urge VEOHRC and the UFU to find a way to ensure the reviews most important opportunities for improvement are able to be made public but the latest advice from VEOHRC does not give this aspiration much hope.

VFBV remains astonished that once again too much external interference in the management of CFA has been able to stop the release of a Government report, sadly this is further proof of the excessive interference we have been seeking to expose for some years. 

VEOHRC has invited anyone who has experienced discrimination, sexual harassment or victimisation in the fire services and wishes to make a confidential complaint to contact their independent conciliation service.  This offer should be taken up by anyone with a concern.

Many volunteers have contacted VFBV expressing their anger and frustration about the external interference and ability for a legal technicality to be used to stop this important VEOHRC work and these concerns have been strongly represented to VEOHRC, members are encouraged to also contact VEOHRC directly.

The Victorian Government has recently completed its sunset review of the Plumbing Regulations. The Minister for Planning Mr Richard Wynne has announced the new Regulations which are to come into effect on 18 November 2018. The new regulations will have an impact on any CFA brigade that is currently providing FEM (Fire Equipment Maintenance) services to their communities and currently service fire hose reels.

Under the new Regulations, ‘routine servicing’ has been explicitly inserted into the regulations which will have the effect of regulating the twice-yearly routine servicing of all fire hose reels that has previously been done by CFA Brigades, and now requires this work to be done by a licensed plumber.

There are currently over 300 CFA Brigades and more than 1,500 CFA members currently performing routine inspection and service on fire equipment to over 30,000 premises across Victoria.

VFBV Position

VFBV recognises and respects the important public value provided to Victorian Communities by CFA volunteers undertaking FEM work in their local communities. Not only does FEM servicing provide funding for important brigade owned equipment and infrastructure for the benefit of the community, but CFA FEM services play a critical role in building community safety, linking local brigades with local premises facilitating incident planning and response and ensures the front line equipment to be used for fire suppression is operational and maintained at an appropriate standard.

The reality is in many locations located away from major provincial towns or centres, without CFA brigades delivering what could be described as an ‘essential fire prevention service’ there would be few if any other service providers that would consider the financial returns worthy of long travel distances based on the small numbers of potential clients.

It is VFBV’s position: 

·         CFA volunteers should be protected from excessive bureaucratic regulation and red tape

·         CFA FEM services provides a critical public safety service that contributes significant public value

·         New policy or legislation should always be assessed for any negative CFA volunteer impact before it is enacted or legislated

·         There is a statutory obligation for the State of Victoria to consult with CFA volunteers and their representatives on all matters that may impact upon them before decisions are made    

Current Status

The new regulations have been enacted and come into effect on the 18th November. From this date, only licensed plumbers are permitted to provide routine servicing on hose reels, fire hydrants and fire sprinklers.

As a result of significant public controversy and comment concerning the impact the new regulations are likely to have on the fire protection services industry as a whole, the Victorian Building Authority has urgently established a stakeholder working group to explore the possibility of establishing “restricted classes of registration and licensing” that would permit routine servicing of fire equipment to continue as it does now.

CFA and VFBV representatives have been invited to be a part of this working group, which will meet again next week.

Lack of Consultation has meant CFA Volunteer impacts were not properly identified or understood

The regulations sunset review was conducted by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. Despite VFBV raising its concerns directly during the review period – both DELWP and CFA have failed to engage with VFBV or volunteers on the significant impacts that the new regulations will have on CFA volunteers.

VFBV was not informed of the review by either DELWP or CFA, and only became aware of the work being done very late in the process. Since July, VFBV has consistently raised its concerns with the failure to consult on this subject many times over the past three months.

Disappointingly, DELWP ignored VFBV’s requests for engagement and consultation during the review, eventually responding to VFBV correspondence advising that the “public consultation period is now closed.”

Most alarmingly, over a month after the regulatory review was finalised, CFA formally advised VFBV that it had not completed work on potential impacts of the new regulations, and would advise VFBV “in due course.” CFA further advised that it was CFA’s view that the most appropriate approach is to wait for the legislation to be drafted and passed by government prior to formal engagement with brigades or VFBV.

As at today, CFA is yet to provide VFBV with any of the requested analysis or information requested, including estimates of workload and the cost of CFA members having to be registered/licensed.

As a result – the full impact of this legislative change was most likely little understood during the Regulatory Impact process, which explains the following excerpt from the Governments Regulatory Impact Statement:

“The department considers that this specific change will have no or negligible cost impacts on the sector or involve any behaviour changes…”
(Plumbing Regulations 2018 Regulatory Impact Statement p 65.)

Community Impacts

Current CFA recommended pricing of the six-monthly Level 1 hose reel servicing for example is $6.50 with the annual Level 2 service provided for $15.50

Concerns about the lack of licensed plumbers willing to conduct this rudimentary work, especially in remote rural areas has led many to fear market economics of supply and demand may drive large scale noncompliance and put upward pressure on costs that will inevitably be passed on to the public.

The reduction of FEM income to CFA Brigades that rely on this funding for equipment and infrastructure is also likely to create significant flow-on effects as Brigades suffer from a retraction of customers looking to consolidate their servicing if CFA is unable to offer this service.

VFBV understands that during the review, these and other concerns were consistently raised by the Fire Protection Association of Australia, Metropolitan Fire Brigade and the Country Fire Authority.

Next Steps

The new regulations take effect in just two weeks, on November 18. Brigades should make best endeavour to arrange any outstanding routine servicing on hose reels prior to this date whilst discussions continue.

VFBV acknowledges the feedback received from volunteers on this subject to date - seeking policy reversal and will continue to pursue why mandatory consultation obligations to VFBV and volunteers is consistently not being met. Members are requested to discuss this issue with your local District Council and State Councillor’s to help inform future VFBV advocacy.

In the interim, and concurrently with that advocacy, the Victorian Building Authority has convened a cross sector working group to try and reach agreement on ways to minimise the regulatory impact of the changes and implement ‘transition’ arrangements.

VFBV has been invited to be part of those discussions and will work collaboratively with other stakeholders to try and identify arrangements that limit or prevent the negative regulatory impacts arising from the new legislation. We will keep members apprised as this work progresses.

Members should continue voicing their concerns to members of Parliament about why legislation has again been drafted on matters that directly affect CFA volunteers – drafted without volunteer consultation and results in intentional or unintended blockers to volunteers contributing to public value and performing work important to their local communities. Work they are more than capable and best placed to perform.

Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria (VFBV) CEO Andrew Ford has welcomed today’s Liberal Nationals commitment to immediately introduce stand-alone presumptive legislation that does not discriminate between paid and volunteer firefighters and called on all sides of politics to commit to the same.

“Sadly, Victoria is the only Australian State that does not provide presumptive rights to firefighters if they are impacted by one of the cancers recognized as being linked with their work,” Mr. Ford said.

“Today’s commitment from the Liberal National opposition to right this wrong is very, very welcome.”

“VFBV has been advocating for this specific outcome since before the 2014 State Election and have consistently argued that the health and safety of our firefighters should be a priority, above politics.”

“We congratulate Matthew Guy for his commitment to urgently protect all firefighters equally and we call on every other political leader to immediately make the same public pledge.”

“More than three years after the last election promise, presumptive cancer legislation was introduced to Parliament at Easter this year, but it didn’t pass for two important reasons.”

“Firstly, the Bill treated volunteer and paid firefighters differently and set conditions for volunteers that meant many who contract cancer would not have been able to access compensation.”

“The other reason that Bill failed to achieve the support of the majority of MP’s was that it combined the Government’s completely separate, highly political plan to carve up the CFA.”

“Combining the issues not only doomed the presumptive cancer provisions to fail but was also seen by many innocent firefighters as a cynical attempt to use their health as a political bargaining chip.”

“As firefighters across Victoria prepare for a high-risk fire season, the least they should be offered is the knowledge that if they contract cancer as a result, a simple and equitable system will look after them and their families without the need for the complex legal battles the last Bill would have required.”

“All emergency workers deserve the greatest respect, especially volunteers who leave their homes and families to protect those of others without payment.”

“Every political leader should demonstrate that respect today by committing to support stand-alone, unambiguous, no tricks presumptive cancer legislation that does not discriminate between paid and volunteer firefighters as the first item on the Notice Paper of the next Parliament,” Mr. Ford ended