Labor will recruit 450 more firefighters. An Andrews Labor Government will recruit 450 more firefighters to improve community safety and help the Country Fire Authority (CFA) respond to bushfires. The Liberals cut funds to Victoria’s fire services, making it so much harder for our firefighters to keep communities safe. Just this week, the Liberals cut 164 CFA staff at the start of the bushfire season. Labor will invest $141.3 million to recruit an additional 350 CFA firefighters and 100 Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) firefighters over the next four years. Labor will also introduce legislation to give career and volunteer firefighters presumptive rights to compensation for cancer claims arising from their service. Labor will also conduct a Parliamentary Inquiry into the pollution, contamination and unsafe practices at the training college at Fiskville to examine health effects on employees, and will ensure that the Fire Services Property Levy is used to support firefighters and improve emergency response. Daniel Andrews said: “Firefighters risk their lives to keep our community safe. They deserve our total support.” “Only Labor can be trusted with the health and safety of our firefighters.” “Denis Napthine cut funds to Victoria’s fire services, and just this week, he sacked 164 CFA staff at the start of the bushfire season. He’s made it harder for firefighters to do their job safely.” Key facts · Victorian legislation for career and volunteer firefighters will reflect the cancers covered and timeframes for duty of service as in the Tasmanian legislation including brain cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, leukaemia, breast cancer, testicular cancer, myeloma, prostate cancer, ureter cancer, colorectal cancer and oesophageal cancer. · Labor will implement Emergency Medical Response at all integrated CFA stations, support the expansion of the secondment program between the MFB and CFA on a permanent basis, 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 and honour all agreements. · Labor will also train and equip firefighters with the latest technology to battle brown coal fires, and expand support services for firefighters suffering Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 23:35:08 +0000
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