Back to the big smoke: RFS headquarters to stay in Sydney (or not)

The following newspaper articles were published in the Central Western Daily and the Daily Liberal on 17 Nov 2016.

A message to Regional and Rural voters

The VFFA will not give up on this issue until the concrete has set hard and the furniture is being moved in. We are pushing onwards with our campaign titled:

Let’s put the RURAL back into the Rural Fire Service

It is very disappointing that the government has not heeded the warnings made clear in the Orange By Election.

Orange and Dubbo (like many other regional areas) have a lot to offer, flying from Sydney to Orange or Dubbo would be comparable and a lot more enjoyable than dealing with city traffic. The Commissioner could even have the chopper standing by just outside his office.

It is a very short sighted decision and it may proof to become extremely costly in terms of voter confidence in the lead up to the next election.

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ORANGE and a host of other regional centres in the state have been ruled out of the running to become the new home of the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS).

NSW Minister for Emergency Services David Elliott this week said a new, state-of-the-art headquarters for the RFS is likely to be situated within 40 minutes of Sydney’s CBD.

The announcement comes as a blow to city’s like Orange, Parkes, Dubbo and Armidale which had, to differing extents, thrown their hats into the ring as potential hosts of the facility and its hundreds of staff.

Orange City Councillor Reg Kidd first made moves to highlight the city’s suitability in 2012.

Armed with a unanimous vote from his fellow councillors to campaign for the relocation and knowing the Baird Governemnt’s “platform of decentralisation”, Cr Kidd in February met with Mr Elliott to push the city’s cause.

But the minister’s announcement put paid to any hopes of housing the planned $14.2 million facility in the Central West.

Mr Elliott said being close to Sydney was “essential” so “key stakeholders”, including NSW Police and National Parks and media outlets “have efficient access” to RFS headquarters.

“It is … essential to have an inbuilt capability to enable media to easily transition to … headquarters and conduct live broadcasts, with travel time an important consideration,” he said.

Former Dubbo deputy mayor Ben Shields said moving the facility to the region would have made good political sense for a Government smarting from the dramatic swing in the Orange byelection.

“The Nationals got a bloody nose on the weekend and they need to look seriously at decentralisation and this is staring them right in the eye,” Mr Shields said.

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Regional RFS HQ hopes doused

The NSW Minister for Emergency Services David Elliott has effectively removed any hope of Dubbo becoming the new home of the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS).

Dubbo’s former deputy mayor Ben Shields has long campaigned for the headquarters to be moved to Dubbo, while the Volunteer Fire Fighters Association (VFFA) support a move into regional Australia.

But a new state-of-the-art headquarters for the RFS is likely to be situated within 40 minutes of Sydney’s CBD, Mr Elliott has said.

“The NSW government is investing $14.2 million in 2017-18 to establish a new state-of-the-art headquarters for the NSW Rural Fire Service,” Mr Elliott said.

“Ideally the new site will be within 30-40 minutes of the Sydney CBD.

“A call of Lease Proposal released in May 2016 has closed with proponents currently undergoing a tender evaluation process undertaken by Properties NSW in conjunction with NSW RFS.”

But Mr Shields said the NSW government should look seriously at Dubbo.

“We’ve got two highways going through us, we’ve got a great water supply, we’ve got access to the rest of the state through our airport,” he said.

“All signs point to Dubbo when it comes to the RFS headquarters.”

The investment would also go help mend the rift between central west voters and the NSW Nationals, he said, as evidenced at the weekend’s Orange byelection.

“The Nationals got a bloody nose on the weekend in Orange and they need to look seriously at decentralisation and this is staring them right in the eye,” Mr Shields said.

“[Deputy Prime Minister] Barnaby Joyce is doing a great job…he’s moving jobs to places like Armidale.

“What I’m saying to the state guys is follow what the feds are doing!”

“Could you imagine moving the RFS to Dubbo and the number of jobs it would bring?” VFFA media officer Jon Russell said.

“People would be going to Woolies, to Coles, to Aldi, buying a home, at the start they’d be renting.

“We want to put the ‘rural’ back into the RFS.”

But Mr Elliott said being close to Sydney CBD was “essential” so “key stakeholders”, including NSW Police and National Parks, and media outlets “have efficient access” to RFS headquarters.

“It is…essential to have an inbuilt capability to enable media to easily transition to…headquarters and conduct live broadcasts…with travel time an important consideration,” he said.