Resourcing the key to bushfire preparation and response
The United Firefighters' Union of South Australia, in joining the demand for a national inquiry, said there were
many ageing fire trucks in the South Australian fleet that could not be properly equipped.
"Our people work very hard on the smell of what's frankly an oily rag," state secretary Max Adlam said.
"These people are passionate about what they do.
"I think its incumbent upon our political leaders to get their acts together, and to ensure that frontline emergency services workers are properly resourced and the communities are looked after."
The Public Service Association of New South Wales warned there had been
cutbacks to staff working in national parks, and claimed there
was only one fire management officer monitoring the area from Port Macquarie through to the Queensland border in New South Wales.
General secretary Stewart Little said it was welcome to hear the Federal Government talking about appropriate resourcing and the injection of money into bushfire-hit areas, but it was too late.
"Sure they're talking about it now,
but why on Earth were we not talking about this at the beginning of the fire season in August back in New South Wales."
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