Victoria’s rural firefighting service, the Country Fire Authority, is cutting 164 jobs on the brink of what the firefighting union warns could be a “catastrophic” fire season.
A leaked CFA management document shows that around 10% of the organisation’s workforce is in the process of being made redundant, resulting in savings of $16m a year.
The roles include those in “fire and emergency management”, business services and the training of volunteers. A total of 41 of the positions have already been axed.
Details of the job cuts have emerged as Victoria prepares for its fire season, with fire restrictions placed across multiple areas of the state on Monday.
The United Firefighters Union said the job cuts were part of a Victorian government move to strip $66m in funding from the CFA.
“There is less being spent on firefighting compared to 2009, despite Victoria’s population increasing,” Peter Marshall, Victorian secretary of the union, told Guardian Australia. “These job cuts are ill-conceived and stupid. I’ve never seen a government downsize critical emergency services on the brink of a potentially catastrophic fire season.
“We know fires are becoming more intensive and more frequent and here we are cutting 10% of the CFA’s workforce. It just doesn’t add up.
“The whole state will potentially be placed at risk by this policy. We already have fire stations unattended because of a lack of firefighters. It doesn’t matter what the political party is, they have a duty of care to communities. This government hasn’t fulfilled that duty of care.”
Victoria’s Coalition government, which is facing an election on November 29, has insisted that the CFA restructure will only affect backroom staff.
Kim Wells, Victoria’s minister of police and emergency services, said the claim that the move would damage firefighting capability was “absolutely rubbish.”
“This is another example of the UFU and their Labor mates attempting to mislead the Victorian people on the eve of an election,” he said. “Under the Napthine government Victoria’s emergency services have been strengthened by more than 200 extra CFA career firefighters, with more to graduate by the end of the year.
“These 206 extra recruits are providing crucial frontline support to the more than 55,000 CFA volunteers who work across more than 1,200 brigades protecting their fellow Victorians.
“Over the past four years the number of extra volunteer firefighters has also increased considerably, with more than 800 additional firefighters working at stations across the state.”
Wells added that the Coalition had provided the CFA with more than $2.29bn in funding since it took power in 2010.
Wade Noonan, Labor’s emergency services spokesman, said the job cuts would put Victoria’s population at risk. “We have to support firefighters, because they protect our families,” he said. “Only a Liberal would cut funds to firefighting at the start of bushfire season. Locals aren’t going to forget this.”
