Chair Senate Committee Bridget Mc Kenzie

The CFA brigade is one of the oldest volunteer brigades in . Our history dates back some 160 years. The brigade is seen as forward thinking and progressive. The Brigade covers the communities of Ross Creek, Smythesdale and Scarsdale, in the Golden Plain Shire. Victoria. We are situated some 14 kilometres from . Our membership includes active fire fighters, rehabilitation health specialists, non fire fighters and junior( under16) members. Our membership is diverse in ethnicity and gender. At present our Brigade membership numbers some 80 people.The recent CFA EBA has had an impact on this Brigade.

Firstly we have had a long serving experienced member resign from the Brigade stating in no uncertain terms it was the signing of the EBA that was his resignation cause. Though this is only one member at this stage it does have a very measurable impact on the Brigade operation. We now are one tanker driver short. We no longer have this member able to turn out during a time of the day that we identified as a Brigade shortfall. We have lost the 20 plus years experience. We now need to recruit and train a replacement. We are experiencing difficulty at this stage in recruiting members so our task becomes more urgent especially in a small rural community. In addition we have lost the support in kind and finance of this member and his immediate family.

Secondly the other measurable effect since the EBA issue commenced has been a steady but regular decline in members turning out to incidents. In addition our CFA station was a meeting point for members and their community on a Sunday morning. It was a place for all to meet discuss and be involved. This informal process provided both mental and physical well being, " a sense of belonging" a "sense of community". It may be pure coincidence but there can be no doubt that this informal community service has dropped off considerably. In addition members have expressed their dissatisfaction personally to the Brigade Secretary.

Members have reinforced this dissatisfaction by informing the Captain and the Communication Officer that for the fire season 2016/2017 they will only be available for the initial attack for a fire and will not be available for subsequent blacking out and strike teams and in their own words" the paid staff can do what they are paid for"

Members have also indicated that a range of services that we do without question but at a cost both in time effort etc we should cease doing. A practical example is the 30 k round trip to pick up and return a breathing apparatus trailer for training. Our volunteers suggest that this is but one job that others could do. We would still do the training but it would be up to permanent staff to supply the goods. Our Volunteer members have quoted a large number of similar circumstances that underline the spirit of co-operation, sacrifice and mutual help that is in danger. Does not this spirit go to the very nature of the the organisations spirit of volunteerism? This type of response also indicates that there is now a very clear wedge between volunteers and career staff. This reinforces the almost daily refrain from volunteers, their families and the community " that volunteers are treated as second class citizens because we /you are are not paid" The recent discussion about the provision of street wear for volunteers (opposed by the union)is just another practical example as how volunteers view their treatment.

We also note a number of clauses in the EBA that members see as contradictory, and will veto the power and operation of volunteers at incidents. The Brigade Management Team have sat down and read through the EBA and we find our selves passing comments along the lines of " Does this mean we have to consult before we do ... Can I as an incident controller ask a career fire fighter to do this? Does this mean that if I am working in Incident Management Team I can not do this...". What does this mean for SES? What does this mean when working for DELWP. They are not even mentioned, yet we work with them at major fires? " This range of questions was almost continuous as the BMT unpacked the EBA. In all cases we as a Brigade Management Team were of the opinion that this was unworkable especially where words like "must" were include that then contradicted earlier clauses. There were so many clauses that were contrary to our reading and interpretation of the CFA Act that we gave up asking these scenario type questions. It lead to a real sense of utter frustration. We found ourselves asking how will this work when the "shit hits the fan."

Recently a volunteer member had to "remind" a paid staff fire fighter that the volunteer was indeed the Incident Controller and that the chain of command as per the Standard Operating Procedures would be operating.

We are of the belief that this document as it presently stands will be destructive and divisive. It will negatively impact on volunteers. Lt Wayne Bourke Secretary Smythesdale Fire Brigade

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