Page 2839 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 29 June 2011
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Some of the concerns that I have had from various groups include that this will lead to a long-term wind-back and changes to the arrangements which will see officers going back into their regions rather than staying in the central unit that coordinates across all regions and is actually delivering these results.
It is interesting that both Doogan and McLeod also talk about having appropriate officers in place. Indeed, they have actually got an officer in place in the fire management unit who was given a Public Service Medal for his services to the community. I will read some of the citation. It states that this officer:
… has played a central role in reshaping the forestry, fire and land management sectors in the Australian Capital Territory. He contributed to the development of improved fire management programs on ACT Government land, implementing a training pathway program for ACT Parks’ firefighters, and made a significant contribution to the Strategic Bushfire Management Plan and the ACT Government’s response to the Coronial Report into the 2003 Canberra bushfires.
The citation goes on to state that this officer:
… has raised the professional profile of the ACT Parks, Conservation and Lands firefighting workforce. He also represents the ACT on numerous national fire committees, and has been deployed to assist in fighting the wildfires in the USA on two occasions.
This is an excellent fire management officer. Yet this is the very officer who is at risk from the restructure that the minister has set in place. I am at an absolute loss as to why the government, who clearly believe this officer was worthy of a Public Service Medal, now thinks this officer is worth removing. I find this very worrying indeed.
The interesting thing is that this is not just coming from the fire groups, the volunteers or the Bushfire Council. It is actually a strong push from the conservation community as well. I have a number of emails from people in those fields. I will read from some. One states:
To dismember the effective, highly-trained and well thought of TAMS Fire Management Unit is sheer lunacy. The speed with which they can respond to fires in the reserves and urban open spaces they are familiar with is an essential asset that contributes to the new fire-safety confidence felt by ACT residents … It is counter-intuitive and counter-productive to, once again, have ACT Fire-management under separate leadership agencies (planning and operations).
This one goes on to say:
… Fire management teams will be significantly affected …
That is making reference to some of the redundancies. Indeed, the conservation council state:
We are dismayed and outraged at the internal moves within TAMS that are destroying the core of nature conservation and fire management effort in the ACT …
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