Calls to keep bushfire brigade management close to home as local governments consider offloading to State

Bushfire Volunteers WA has slammed suggestions to transfer management of volunteer bushfire brigades to the State, instead calling for more levy funding to be redirected to the bush. The WA Local Government Association recently sent a discussion paper to Shire chief executives calling for comment on whether they wanted to continue to manage local bushfire brigades by July 8. Under the Bush Fires Act 1954, 111 local governments in WA have responsibility for the management of 563 volunteer bush fire brigades and nearly 20,000 volunteers. The discussion paper put forward four “options for future management for bush fire brigades” for Shires, with WALGA supporting a “hybrid model”. Under the model, local governments would continue to manage brigades where they had capacity, capability and resources but if not, could opt to transfer management to DFES. “Whatever the arrangements for future management of brigades, it is apparent local governments with responsibility for management of brigades require additional support and resourcing, which should be provided by the State Government,” the paper said. A WALGA-led survey last year revealed that of 92 local governments, 93 per cent were not “wholly satisfied with the current arrangements” for management of bushfire brigades. The paper — titled Arrangements for Management of Volunteer Bush Fire Brigades — revealed the number of brigades managed by local governments varied from one to 20. DFES already manages some brigades, including seven in the Kimberley and seven in the Pilbara. The paper claimed comments from the survey indicated a “strong preference” for the State Government to take on responsibility for “all emergency management matters in WA”, including the management of brigades. It also claimed the updated Work Health and Safety Act 2020 had heightened concerns about “risk and liability” of bushfire brigades, with shared responsibility for the health and safety adding “further complexity”. Employers could face 20 years in jail and $10m in fines if found responsible for a workplace death under the new Work Health and Safety Act, which came into effect on March 31. “Local governments are responsible for providing compensation for injury caused to present and former volunteers as a result of their duties,” the report said. “Since 2012 . . . the aggregate limit of liability has increased from $250,000 to $750,000.” Association of Volunteer Bush Fire Brigades president Dave Gossage said there was nothing wrong with the current management structure and any move to centralise the system would lead volunteers to “walking off the job”. He said the paper failed to address the fundamental issue that local governments needed access to more funding through the Emergency Services Levy, which he claimed too much of was spent in the city. A total $391.3m was raised through the levy in 2021-22. Mr Gossage also claimed 10,000 volunteers had left the brigade system during the past 40 years. “It is important to note that existence and activity of local brigades often provides a further value-add in that it encourages and supports the establishment of firefighting equipment and resources by private landowners, as well as other risk mitigation activity,” he said. “Volunteer bush fire brigades are borne from the community and are by their nature, strengthen community resilience and their engagement on the issues of preparedness. Communities, and therefore local governments, have a significant interest in volunteering and brigades.” Mr Gossage said the “primary driver” for the call to change the structure was “primarily driven by resourcing gaps, state agency staff, and centralised bodies that want centralised control and funding”. “A shift in the oversight of bush fire brigades does not address the funding solution or the guarantee required to maintain an effective community response mechanism over time,” he said. Shire of Wagin president Phil Blight also called for the status quo to remain the same. “When volunteer firefighters are running towards the risk of fire, highly paid CEOs are running away from the risk (of being liable for injury) and I think it is really poor form,” he said. “My understanding is that the State doesn’t want to change the status quo, neither does DFES.” WA Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said local governments would continue to manage local volunteer bushfire brigades, unless the two parties came together and collectively handed over those firefighting responsibilities to the State Government. “The State supports local governments continuing to run local bushfire brigades,” he said. “The volunteers who are out there putting their lives at risk on a daily basis should have the ability to decide who they want to be part of, whether that is the DFES or the local government. “The feedback... from many volunteers is that they want to remain under the management of local government. “If local brigades and councils make that decision together, the State is open to having those discussions, but only where there is agreement from the volunteer brigades.” WA is the only State in Australia in which local governments manage bushfire volunteers. WALGA’s discussion paper comes as the State Government drafts the Consolidated Emergency Services Act, to bring together the Fire Brigades Act 1942, Bush Fires Act 1954, and Fire and Emergency Services Act 1998 next year. Local governments can provide their input on the WALGA discussion paper by July 8, with a report set to be handed down in September 2022. THE FOUR OPTIONS Status Quo: Continue with the current arrangement. . . whereby the majority are managed by local government and transfer arrangements are negotiated on an ad-hoc basis between DFES, local governments and brigades Improvements: Continue with the current arrangements with additional support provided by the State Government, including more funding and better access to training resources Hybrid model: Local government continues to manage brigades where they have the capacity, capability and resources but where they do not, responsibility is transferred to DFES Transfer: Responsibility for brigades is transferred to the State Government, in line with other States and Territories