Re-engage with the Bush for a Brighter Future

Re-engage with the Bush for a Brighter Future

On Thursday 6th September 2018 – VFFA president, Mick Holton spoke to Shoalhaven CBF Radio (Chance, Barry and Frenchy)

We spoke about:

1. Minister Troy Grant and Acting Commissioner Malcolm Connellan  launching the arrival of our first Large Air Tanker (LAT) for the NSW fire season at Richmond RAAF Base.
2. Our failure to recognise the simplicity of a re-engagement to the bush, a reconnect with country that can save us huge amounts of money and more importantly, a return to cultural burning has the potential to restore the environment to a healthy status.
3. The bullying enquiry.

Parks Cuts – Volunteers Expected to Pick up the Slack

Parks Cuts – Volunteers Expected to Pick up the Slack

There are many examples of how the NSW Government is cutting back services and expecting our volunteers to pick up the slack.

The lack of Ambulance Officers in some rural areas creates a situation where our volunteers are too often, required to drive the Ambulance to emergency medical care, whilst the paid officer tends to the patient. Most volunteers are happy to provide support from time to time, but there comes a point in time that these expectations become unreasonable.

The same could be said for the restructure of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

The NPWS claims that the cuts and restructure has not impacted upon the service’s firefighting capacity, but the VFFA is receiving a very different story from many NPWS staff. They say that a large number of very experienced NPWS firefighters have left the service and the restructure has not always replaced those people with a comparable experience base.

It has been suggested that the NSW Government is cashing in on the good will of NSW Volunteers (not limited to firefighting).

The NSW Government needs to be reminded that volunteers are a valuable resource that must be respected, not abused.

Past (and New) VFFA Political Relationships

Past (and New) VFFA Political Relationships

Dear VFFA Members and Supporters
The VFFA has maintained an apolitical approach with a desire to work with any political party that best represents the needs of our volunteer members.
We are witnessing a massive shift away from the major political parties and I would encourage you to consider your vote in the next State Election very carefully to ensure that your needs are being properly addressed by your political representative.
This letter (post) is written to inform you of some political history surrounding your Association.

Winner Winner – A Henty Grinner

Winner Winner – A Henty Grinner

The VFFA, management and staff at Ecocrackenback congratulate the prize winner, Lyn Martin of Bethanga. Lyn (with family or friends) will be heading off on a Summer adventure, staying at Ecocrackenback in the beautiful Snowy Mountains.

The Ecocrackenback property consists of 18 luxuriously appointed ‘habitats’ nestled amongst the snow gums on 40 acres along Alpine Way close to Jindabyne and Alpine NSW.

Henty 2018, has been a winner all-round with some great opportunities to meet with Rural Fire Service Volunteers, talk to the public and continue to build our strength as an association that represents a large number of volunteer firefighters across NSW.

Another potential winner is the environment, as the VFFA continues to promote the advantages of cultural and ecological burning practices.

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Artwork by John Tiedemann, illustrator and cartoonist

Are modern firefighting agencies inciting fear as a method of risk management rather than applying appropriate risk control measures? 

Fear is a powerful tool, it sells newspapers, keeps the television ratings alive, gives our radio stations some great material to talk about and it helps to drive campaigns to increase public spending on reactive and expensive firefighting strategies that we simply cannot afford.

Image if we could return to a situation where our local firefighters looked after their own patch without the red tape associated with hazard reduction. Image how nice it would be if our land management practices were returned to a commonsense and balanced approach that our Indigenous Australians, farmers and graziers have used in the past.

Instead of cooking the guts out of the country, we could see improved forest health and reduced risk to our native animals and the bush that we love so much.

Instead, we see another story that warns us of a bleak bushfire outlook. There is no mention of the massive fuel loads that are the root cause of this problem.

The elephant in the room is fuel.

VFFA Constitution 2018

The Constitution of the NSW Volunteers Firefighters Association has been reviewed in line with the Associations Incorporation Act 2009. Draft reviews commencing in 2016 and were available for download (on the VFFA web site) during the review process.

The new constitution was adopted on Saturday the 10th February this year (2018) at the Executive meeting held at the Cottage Point RFB station. It has been lodged and registered with Fair Trading NSW and is now in effect.

The Constitution of the NSW Volunteers Firefighters Association will remain available for download on the VFFA web site.

2018 Volunteer Welfare and Efficiency Survey – NSW RFSA

2018 Volunteer Welfare and Efficiency Survey – NSW RFSA

Many volunteers took part in last year’s national Volunteer Welfare and Efficiency Survey, and the NSW Rural Fire Service Association (RFSA) is inviting NSW RFS members to once again participate in the 2018 survey.

The annual survey began with the CFA volunteers’ association, Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria (VFBV) five years ago, and now for the third year, VFBV is hosting a version on behalf of RFSA. Once again the survey is available to volunteer fire associations through the Council of Australian Volunteer Fire Associations (CAVFA).

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