LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Parliamentary Paper No 358 General Purpose Standing Committee No 5 Report on Inquiry into the NSW Rural Fire Service Ordered to be printed 23 June 2000 Report No6 - June 2000 i LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Inquiry into the NSW Rural Fire Service How to contact the Committee Members of General Purpose Standing Committee No 5 can be contacted through the committee secretariat. Written correspondence and inquiries should be directed to: The Director General Purpose Standing Committees Legislative Council Parliament House, Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000 Email [email protected] Telephone 61-2-9230 3544 Facsimile 61-2-9230 3416 Website www.parliament.nsw.gov.au ISBN 0-7347-6407-3 ii GENERAL PURPOSE STANDING COMMITTEE NO 5 Table of Contents COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP ............................................................................................................................. VI TERMS OF REFERENCE....................................................................................................................................VII RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................................................................... VIII ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................................................................. XIII CHAIRMAN’S FOREWORD ............................................................................................................................... XV 1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................ XV 1.1 REFERRAL OF THE INQUIRY ............................................................................................................................1 1.2 CONDUCT OF THE INQUIRY.............................................................................................................................2 1.2.1 Advertising...............................................................................................................................................2 1.2.2 Submissions .............................................................................................................................................2 1.2.3 Hearings..................................................................................................................................................2 1.3 STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT...........................................................................................................................3 2 BACKGROUND ..............................................................................................................................................4 2.1 LARGE FIRES IN THE 1990S .............................................................................................................................5 2.1.1 December 1993 to January 1994 fires.......................................................................................................5 2.1.2 Other fires - 97 Pilliga, 98 Wingello ........................................................................................................6 2.2 SELECT COMMITTEE REPORT – 1994 ..............................................................................................................6 2.3 CORONIAL INQUIRY – FEBRUARY 1996...........................................................................................................7 2.3.1 Dual control.............................................................................................................................................8 2.3.2 Single Rural Fire Service .........................................................................................................................9 2.3.3 Other recommendations ...........................................................................................................................9 2.4 BUSH FIRE COORDINATING COMMITTEE REPORT – MAY 1996 ......................................................................10 2.5 REFORM OF THE RURAL FIRE SERVICE..........................................................................................................12 2.5.1 Amendments to the Bush Fires Act 1949 in 1994.....................................................................................12 2.5.2 Joint Fire Services Standing Committee – 1996 ......................................................................................12 2.5.3 Introduction of the Rural Fires Act 1997.................................................................................................12 2.6 AUDITOR-GENERAL REPORT IN 1998............................................................................................................15 3 FUNDING PROCESS....................................................................................................................................18 3.1 LEGISLATIVE BASIS FOR THE RURAL FIRE FIGHTING FUND ............................................................................18 3.2 ESTIMATES OF FUND EXPENDITURE...............................................................................................................18 3.3 HOW IS THE RFFF FUNDED?.........................................................................................................................19 3.4 NSW GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTION.............................................................................................................19 3.5 CONTRIBUTIONS BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT ....................................................................................................19 3.6 CONTRIBUTIONS BY INSURANCE COMPANIES.................................................................................................20 3.6.1 Advance payments..................................................................................................................................20 3.6.2 Overseas insurance companies...............................................................................................................21 3.6.3 Summary of how insurance company contributions are collected ............................................................21 3.6.4 Lack of insurance/ under insurance ........................................................................................................23 3.7 ALLOCATION OF FUNDS................................................................................................................................23 3.8 EVIDENCE REGARDING THE FUNDING PROCESS ..............................................................................................23 3.8.1 Fundraising ...........................................................................................................................................24 3.8.2 Burden of funding...................................................................................................................................25 3.8.3 Transparency of funding.........................................................................................................................25 Report No6 - June 2000 iii LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Inquiry into the NSW Rural Fire Service 3.8.4 Evidence received regarding allocation of funding..................................................................................26 3.8.5 Standards of Fire Cover .........................................................................................................................32 3.9 FINDINGS.....................................................................................................................................................33 3.10 APPROPRIATENESS OF OVERALL LEVELS OF FUNDING ....................................................................................34 4 TANKERS, EQUIPMENT & TRAINING ....................................................................................................36 4.1 APPROPRIATENESS OF EXPENDITURE ON TANKERS AND EQUIPMENT ...............................................................36 4.2 TANKERS.....................................................................................................................................................37 4.2.1 Classes/categories of tankers..................................................................................................................37 4.2.2 Allocation of tankers/ equipment.............................................................................................................39 4.2.3 Local construction of tankers..................................................................................................................41 4.3 TANKER TRAILERS .......................................................................................................................................45 4.3.1 Suitability of tanker trailers....................................................................................................................45 4.3.2 Availability of tanker trailers..................................................................................................................49 4.4 APPROPRIATENESS & ADEQUACY OF EQUIPMENT ..........................................................................................51 4.4.1 Equipment distribution ...........................................................................................................................52 4.4.2 Equipment costs – local vs RFS catalogue ..............................................................................................54