Volunteer Fire Fighters Association – Page 42 – The Voice of Volunteer Firefighters in NSW

Keeping the RFS Rural

Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party Member for Orange Philip Donato has declared that the prospect of relocating the NSW Rural Fire Service Headquarters to a rural community is back on the agenda.

He said that the message is loud and clear that the Central West wants to see the Rural Fire Service based in a rural community such as Orange, Parkes or Dubbo.

His Upper House Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party colleague Robert Borsak launched an inquiry into emergency services agencies last week. Part of its focus will be on where the Rural Fire Service should be based.

Well done Mr Barilaro – Next step is to move the RFS Head Office

A very big and sincere well done to the NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Small Business, John Barilaro as he explains the “Easy to do business” program.

Mr Barilaro talks about streamlining business operations, boosting the NSW economy, making it easier and the removal of red tape.

He also suggests that much of the bureaucracy associated with the red tape is typical of government.

The VFFA fully supports this fantastic approach but are disappointed in the short sightedness of the NSW Nationals when it comes to the failure to see the vast benefits of relocating the NSW Rural Fire Service Head Office or larger parts thereof to a regional area.

Coalition announces dramatic public service decentralisation plan

The Coalition plans to decentralise as many government departments as possible, moving the positions of city-based public servants to Australia’s regions in a dramatic reshaping of the bureaucracy.

Nowra men’s group learn about cultural burns

Moves are being made in the Shoalhaven to revive the ancient art of firestick teams and cultural burns.
Eight members of the Djuwin Mudjingaalbaraga Men’s Group have undertaken fireground training with the Rural Fire Service in preparation of forming a local firestick team.
Through his job, National Parks and Wildlife Services ranger Noel Webster, one of the facilitators of the program, has attended a number of workshops around the country and came up with the idea that could be adopted at a local level.
“We have developed a partnership with the Djuwin men’s group, Grand Pacific Health, RFS and NPWS to facilitate the program,” Mr Webster said.

Is the NSW State Government being Bullied?

Did you know that the bullying and harassment issue has been around for a long time in the NSW RFS and it is not limited to RFS Volunteers?
Where does this bullying and harassment come from and where will it end?
It looks very suspicious when we see the NSW State Government failing to respond to the views of regional and rural communities. One example is the decentralisation of the RFS Head Office.
Are they being influenced by the NSW RFS?
Are they being bullied in some way?

St Ivan Bushfire Aftermath

The St Ivan fire razed an estimated 55,000 hectares of farming-land east of Dunedoo, destroying vital agricultural infrastructure like sheds, machinery, homes, over 5,500 kilometres of fencing and more than 5,000 head of sheep and cattle.

New (simplified) Membership Form

The much simplified 2017 membership form is now available as a download.
It’s not just for new memberships, you can fill it in any time you need to update your details or change a subscription.

How do we stop volunteer emergency service workers quitting?

When the question “How do we stop volunteer emergency service workers quitting?” is asked, many volunteers will respond with “listen more and dictate less”

The NSW RFS Annual Report for 2014 / 2015 stated that there was a total of 74,516 volunteers.

The NSW RFS Annual Report for 2015 / 2016 (one year later) stated that there was a total of 73,162 volunteers.

This is a reduction of 1354 volunteers.

Although this decline was recorded in the NSW RFS Annual Reports, the VFFA believes that the total number of actively engaged NSW RFS Volunteers is grossly overstated.

Volunteer firefighters in many rural areas of NSW are distancing themselves from the bureaucracy and many farmers are choosing to “do their own thing” as we see an increase in “freelance firefighting” in rural areas.

VFFA General Meeting – Murrumbateman Inn – Sat 1st April 2017

Dear VFFA Members, Friends, Supporters and Sponsors
One last reminder that you are invited to join us for an important General Meeting to be held at the Murrumbateman Inn (near Yass) at 10am on Saturday April 1st 2017.
This post includes the agenda for this meeting.

Draft Grievance Service Standards for Comment

The following Draft Service Standards are currently out for consultation and members are encouraged to provide feedback.
The VFFA is sharing this material to help provide the widest circulation possible.
Send you feedback or enquiries by email to feedback.standards@rfs.nsw.gov.au or provide your feedback via the MyRFS forums.
1. Consultation Draft Service Standard 1.1.3 – Notice of Grievance Form.
2. Consultation Draft Service Standard 1.1.3 Grievances v3.0

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