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The Advertiser
18-06-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Premier backs fire leaders after no-confidence vote
A state premier has been accused of double standards after refusing to sack senior fire leaders following an "overwhelming" vote of no confidence. The United Firefighters Union has revealed 90 per cent of its members have lost faith in Fire Rescue Victoria's top leadership team, making it the state's third emergency service to withdraw support for its leadership in the past year. The union has been locked in a long-running dispute with the state government over pay and allowances, while also raising serious safety concerns about ageing and unsafe vehicles. Nine-out-of-ten of nearly 3000 firefighters and union members expressed "no confidence" in Commissioner Gavin Freeman, acting deputy secretary Tony Matthews, and acting executive director Tom McPherson. The latest vote comes just months after Victoria Police members passed a similar motion, which led to the resignation of former Chief Commissioner Shane Patton. Ambulance Victoria's chief executive Jane Miller also stepped down in 2024 following a no-confidence vote by staff. Union secretary Peter Marshall has written to Premier Jacinta Allan and Emergency Services Minister Vicki Ward advising them of the vote and requesting action to repair the relationship with workers and executive leaders. "In an organisation like a fire brigade, which follows a quasi-military structure, this is not a step that anyone has taken lightly," he said. His request has fallen on deaf ears, with the premier throwing her full support behind the trio and saying the situation isn't comparable to Victoria Police. "I have full confidence in the leadership of Fire Rescue Victoria," she told reporters. "This is a very different industrial environment." Mr Marshall accused the premier of "double standards", given her intervention when police registered a similarly resounding no-confidence vote. "The premier can live and fall on that statement," he said. "It's only 12 months away from an election, premier, and what we're saying is if someone loses their life it's on your head." Mr Marshall said the vote follows years of mismanagement and leadership failures, which include rising consultants spending, along with a hostile industrial strategy where leaders allegedly reneged on promises made to the workforce. He also said many trucks are past their use-by date, with potentially life-threatening breakdowns putting firefighters and the public at daily risk. Mr Freeman said he would continue to work with the state government to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. "I have full confidence in my executive leadership team, whose commitment to leading with integrity and accountability is delivering a world-class, values-led fire and rescue service for Victorians," he said. "I am aware that the protracted and complex nature of industrial bargaining has caused frustration and concern among our people." The industrial dispute has been referred to the Fair Work Commission after the parties were unable to reach an agreement. A state premier has been accused of double standards after refusing to sack senior fire leaders following an "overwhelming" vote of no confidence. The United Firefighters Union has revealed 90 per cent of its members have lost faith in Fire Rescue Victoria's top leadership team, making it the state's third emergency service to withdraw support for its leadership in the past year. The union has been locked in a long-running dispute with the state government over pay and allowances, while also raising serious safety concerns about ageing and unsafe vehicles. Nine-out-of-ten of nearly 3000 firefighters and union members expressed "no confidence" in Commissioner Gavin Freeman, acting deputy secretary Tony Matthews, and acting executive director Tom McPherson. The latest vote comes just months after Victoria Police members passed a similar motion, which led to the resignation of former Chief Commissioner Shane Patton. Ambulance Victoria's chief executive Jane Miller also stepped down in 2024 following a no-confidence vote by staff. Union secretary Peter Marshall has written to Premier Jacinta Allan and Emergency Services Minister Vicki Ward advising them of the vote and requesting action to repair the relationship with workers and executive leaders. "In an organisation like a fire brigade, which follows a quasi-military structure, this is not a step that anyone has taken lightly," he said. His request has fallen on deaf ears, with the premier throwing her full support behind the trio and saying the situation isn't comparable to Victoria Police. "I have full confidence in the leadership of Fire Rescue Victoria," she told reporters. "This is a very different industrial environment." Mr Marshall accused the premier of "double standards", given her intervention when police registered a similarly resounding no-confidence vote. "The premier can live and fall on that statement," he said. "It's only 12 months away from an election, premier, and what we're saying is if someone loses their life it's on your head." Mr Marshall said the vote follows years of mismanagement and leadership failures, which include rising consultants spending, along with a hostile industrial strategy where leaders allegedly reneged on promises made to the workforce. He also said many trucks are past their use-by date, with potentially life-threatening breakdowns putting firefighters and the public at daily risk. Mr Freeman said he would continue to work with the state government to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. "I have full confidence in my executive leadership team, whose commitment to leading with integrity and accountability is delivering a world-class, values-led fire and rescue service for Victorians," he said. "I am aware that the protracted and complex nature of industrial bargaining has caused frustration and concern among our people." The industrial dispute has been referred to the Fair Work Commission after the parties were unable to reach an agreement. A state premier has been accused of double standards after refusing to sack senior fire leaders following an "overwhelming" vote of no confidence. The United Firefighters Union has revealed 90 per cent of its members have lost faith in Fire Rescue Victoria's top leadership team, making it the state's third emergency service to withdraw support for its leadership in the past year. The union has been locked in a long-running dispute with the state government over pay and allowances, while also raising serious safety concerns about ageing and unsafe vehicles. Nine-out-of-ten of nearly 3000 firefighters and union members expressed "no confidence" in Commissioner Gavin Freeman, acting deputy secretary Tony Matthews, and acting executive director Tom McPherson. The latest vote comes just months after Victoria Police members passed a similar motion, which led to the resignation of former Chief Commissioner Shane Patton. Ambulance Victoria's chief executive Jane Miller also stepped down in 2024 following a no-confidence vote by staff. Union secretary Peter Marshall has written to Premier Jacinta Allan and Emergency Services Minister Vicki Ward advising them of the vote and requesting action to repair the relationship with workers and executive leaders. "In an organisation like a fire brigade, which follows a quasi-military structure, this is not a step that anyone has taken lightly," he said. His request has fallen on deaf ears, with the premier throwing her full support behind the trio and saying the situation isn't comparable to Victoria Police. "I have full confidence in the leadership of Fire Rescue Victoria," she told reporters. "This is a very different industrial environment." Mr Marshall accused the premier of "double standards", given her intervention when police registered a similarly resounding no-confidence vote. "The premier can live and fall on that statement," he said. "It's only 12 months away from an election, premier, and what we're saying is if someone loses their life it's on your head." Mr Marshall said the vote follows years of mismanagement and leadership failures, which include rising consultants spending, along with a hostile industrial strategy where leaders allegedly reneged on promises made to the workforce. He also said many trucks are past their use-by date, with potentially life-threatening breakdowns putting firefighters and the public at daily risk. Mr Freeman said he would continue to work with the state government to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. "I have full confidence in my executive leadership team, whose commitment to leading with integrity and accountability is delivering a world-class, values-led fire and rescue service for Victorians," he said. "I am aware that the protracted and complex nature of industrial bargaining has caused frustration and concern among our people." The industrial dispute has been referred to the Fair Work Commission after the parties were unable to reach an agreement. A state premier has been accused of double standards after refusing to sack senior fire leaders following an "overwhelming" vote of no confidence. The United Firefighters Union has revealed 90 per cent of its members have lost faith in Fire Rescue Victoria's top leadership team, making it the state's third emergency service to withdraw support for its leadership in the past year. The union has been locked in a long-running dispute with the state government over pay and allowances, while also raising serious safety concerns about ageing and unsafe vehicles. Nine-out-of-ten of nearly 3000 firefighters and union members expressed "no confidence" in Commissioner Gavin Freeman, acting deputy secretary Tony Matthews, and acting executive director Tom McPherson. The latest vote comes just months after Victoria Police members passed a similar motion, which led to the resignation of former Chief Commissioner Shane Patton. Ambulance Victoria's chief executive Jane Miller also stepped down in 2024 following a no-confidence vote by staff. Union secretary Peter Marshall has written to Premier Jacinta Allan and Emergency Services Minister Vicki Ward advising them of the vote and requesting action to repair the relationship with workers and executive leaders. "In an organisation like a fire brigade, which follows a quasi-military structure, this is not a step that anyone has taken lightly," he said. His request has fallen on deaf ears, with the premier throwing her full support behind the trio and saying the situation isn't comparable to Victoria Police. "I have full confidence in the leadership of Fire Rescue Victoria," she told reporters. "This is a very different industrial environment." Mr Marshall accused the premier of "double standards", given her intervention when police registered a similarly resounding no-confidence vote. "The premier can live and fall on that statement," he said. "It's only 12 months away from an election, premier, and what we're saying is if someone loses their life it's on your head." Mr Marshall said the vote follows years of mismanagement and leadership failures, which include rising consultants spending, along with a hostile industrial strategy where leaders allegedly reneged on promises made to the workforce. He also said many trucks are past their use-by date, with potentially life-threatening breakdowns putting firefighters and the public at daily risk. Mr Freeman said he would continue to work with the state government to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. "I have full confidence in my executive leadership team, whose commitment to leading with integrity and accountability is delivering a world-class, values-led fire and rescue service for Victorians," he said. "I am aware that the protracted and complex nature of industrial bargaining has caused frustration and concern among our people." The industrial dispute has been referred to the Fair Work Commission after the parties were unable to reach an agreement.
Perth Now
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Firefighters pass no-confidence vote against leadership
Firefighters have delivered an "overwhelming" vote of no confidence in leadership, citing years of escalating systemic failures and a lack of support. The United Firefighters Union revealed that 90 per cent of its members have lost faith in Fire Rescue Victoria's top leadership team, making it the third emergency service in the state to withdraw support for its leadership in the past year. The union has been locked in a long-running dispute with the state government over pay and allowances, while also raising serious safety concerns about ageing and unsafe vehicles. Nine-out-of-ten members expressed "no confidence" in Commissioner Gavin Freeman, Acting Deputy Secretary Tony Matthews, and Acting Executive Director Tom McPherson. The latest vote comes just months after Victoria Police members passed a similar motion, which led to the resignation of former Chief Commissioner Shane Patton. Ambulance Victoria's chief executive Jane Miller also stepped down last year following a no-confidence vote by staff. Union Secretary Peter Marshall has written to Premier Jacinta Allan and Emergency Services Minister Vicki Ward advising them of the vote and requesting action to repair the relationship with workers and executive leaders. "In an organisation like a fire brigade, which follows a quasi-military structure, this is not a step that anyone has taken lightly," he said. Mr Marshall said the vote follows years of mismanagement and leadership failures, which include an 800 per cent rise in spending on consultants in three years, along with a hostile industrial strategy where leaders reneged on promises made to the workforce. He also said many trucks are past their use-by date, with potentially life-threatening breakdowns putting firefighters and the public at daily risk. "To keep Victorians safe, emergency service workers need leaders who understand and respect emergency responders and put public safety first" Mr Marshall said. Mr Freeman said he would continue to work with the state government to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. "I have full confidence in my executive leadership team, whose commitment to leading with integrity and accountability is delivering a world-class, values-led fire and rescue service for Victorians," he said. "I am aware that the protracted and complex nature of industrial bargaining has caused frustration and concern among our people." An industrial dispute concerning pay and conditions between the union and Fire Rescue Victoria has been referred to the Fair Work Commission, after both parties have been unable to reach an agreement.
West Australian
17-06-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Firefighters pass no-confidence vote against leadership
Firefighters have delivered an "overwhelming" vote of no confidence in leadership, citing years of escalating systemic failures and a lack of support. The United Firefighters Union revealed that 90 per cent of its members have lost faith in Fire Rescue Victoria's top leadership team, making it the third emergency service in the state to withdraw support for its leadership in the past year. The union has been locked in a long-running dispute with the state government over pay and allowances, while also raising serious safety concerns about ageing and unsafe vehicles. Nine-out-of-ten members expressed "no confidence" in Commissioner Gavin Freeman, Acting Deputy Secretary Tony Matthews, and Acting Executive Director Tom McPherson. The latest vote comes just months after Victoria Police members passed a similar motion, which led to the resignation of former Chief Commissioner Shane Patton. Ambulance Victoria's chief executive Jane Miller also stepped down last year following a no-confidence vote by staff. Union Secretary Peter Marshall has written to Premier Jacinta Allan and Emergency Services Minister Vicki Ward advising them of the vote and requesting action to repair the relationship with workers and executive leaders. "In an organisation like a fire brigade, which follows a quasi-military structure, this is not a step that anyone has taken lightly," he said. Mr Marshall said the vote follows years of mismanagement and leadership failures, which include an 800 per cent rise in spending on consultants in three years, along with a hostile industrial strategy where leaders reneged on promises made to the workforce. He also said many trucks are past their use-by date, with potentially life-threatening breakdowns putting firefighters and the public at daily risk. "To keep Victorians safe, emergency service workers need leaders who understand and respect emergency responders and put public safety first" Mr Marshall said. Mr Freeman said he would continue to work with the state government to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. "I have full confidence in my executive leadership team, whose commitment to leading with integrity and accountability is delivering a world-class, values-led fire and rescue service for Victorians," he said. "I am aware that the protracted and complex nature of industrial bargaining has caused frustration and concern among our people." An industrial dispute concerning pay and conditions between the union and Fire Rescue Victoria has been referred to the Fair Work Commission, after both parties have been unable to reach an agreement.
ABC News
17-06-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Firefighters pass no-confidence vote against Fire Rescue Victoria's leadership
Victorian firefighters have delivered an overwhelming vote of no confidence in Fire Rescue Victoria's (FRV) leadership, becoming the third Victorian emergency service to withdraw support for those in command in the past year. The United Firefighters Union (UFU) is stuck in a protracted industrial dispute with FRV and the Allan government over pay and conditions and it has also raised the alarm about aging and dangerous vehicles. The vote saw 2,896 members of the 3,700 eligible cast a ballot, with 90 per cent voting they did not have confidence in FRV commissioner Gavin Freeman, acting deputy secretary Tony Matthews and acting executive director Tom McPherson. Earlier this year, former Victorian police chief commissioner Shane Patton resigned following a no-confidence motion. Last year, Ambulance Victoria's chief executive Jane Miller also resigned following a similar vote of members. UFU secretary Peter Marshall has written to Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and Emergency Services Minister Vicki Ward advising them of the ballot outcome and requesting that they consider the direction and performance of the leadership. Mr Marshall said the relationship with leadership was "untenable" and said membership had been hit by serious technical, operational and industrial failures. "We've seen an 800 per cent increase in consultancy fees and public statements about everything's okay when 42 per cent of fire trucks should be off the road, over a million dollars in the last quarter being spent litigating trying to remove safety conditions of firefighters," he said. "They are the people who are responsible for those actions." An industrial dispute of pay and conditions is now before the Fair Work Commission with the UFU and government unable to come to an agreement. Mr Marshall said members were sick of taxpayers' money being used on legal fees to fight firefighters. "Five solicitors, a barrister and a King's Counsel opposed an audit to look at the state of the fleet. Why is fire-service money being used to line lawyers' pockets to stop what are critical improvements in fire response equipment?" he said.
The Advertiser
01-06-2025
- General
- The Advertiser
Firies forced to use paper maps to find emergencies
More than two years after a cyber attack crippled communication systems, firefighters in one state are still being forced to use personal phones and printed maps to navigate to emergencies. Fire Rescue Victoria is investigating the cause of five system outages last month, which lasted up to seven hours at a time. The United Firefighters Union says the outages are risking public safety, a claim FRV strongly denies. The Station Turn Out (STO) system, used to dispatch crews to emergencies failed, with firefighters receiving phone calls from dispatchers asking if they had received notices to attend emergencies. The notices had never arrived. Firefighters and dispatchers had to rely on fallbacks and workarounds like manual phone calls, pagers, and pen and paper to respond to emergencies. The union says one outage occurred in late April, followed by the five in May. The same system also provides emergency tones throughout stations, delivers routing information to firefighters and advice on hydrant location. In its absence firefighters relied on a combination of Google Maps on their personal phones, Melway street directories, and separate apps. The union said neither the outages nor resolutions were communicated by management to firefighters -instead they became aware through communication between stations or a call from Triple Zero Victoria. In a letter sent to Commissioner Gavin Freeman seen by AAP, United Firefighters Union Secretary Peter Marshall said the failure of the critical systems put firefighters and the community at risk. "The failure of these systems has potentially grave impacts," Mr Marshall told AAP on Sunday. "Firefighters are resourceful in protecting public safety, but these failures make that job more difficult and dangerous." On Sunday, Fire Rescue Victoria confirmed it had experienced "intermittent technical issues" since May 24. "We are working closely with Triple Zero Victoria and external experts to investigate the underlying cause of these STO/Firecom outages and resolve the ongoing issue," a spokesperson said in a statement. "When STO/Firecom outages occur, FRV has contingency plans in place which ensure there is no impact to emergency response. "At no time has public safety been compromised and the community should continue to contact Triple Zero (000) as usual in an emergency." Victorian health minister Mary-Anne Thomas said cyber attacks were a real and present threat to both the private and public system. "It's important that all our public services have contingency plans in place should there be an incident, and that's what FRV implemented," Ms Thomas told reporters on Sunday. Questions still remain over the December 2022 cyber attack. The hack significantly affected Fire Rescue Victoria's technology and communications systems and exposed sensitive information. It also left the Firecom firefighting information system offline for a year, and affected the rostering system for much longer. More than two years after a cyber attack crippled communication systems, firefighters in one state are still being forced to use personal phones and printed maps to navigate to emergencies. Fire Rescue Victoria is investigating the cause of five system outages last month, which lasted up to seven hours at a time. The United Firefighters Union says the outages are risking public safety, a claim FRV strongly denies. The Station Turn Out (STO) system, used to dispatch crews to emergencies failed, with firefighters receiving phone calls from dispatchers asking if they had received notices to attend emergencies. The notices had never arrived. Firefighters and dispatchers had to rely on fallbacks and workarounds like manual phone calls, pagers, and pen and paper to respond to emergencies. The union says one outage occurred in late April, followed by the five in May. The same system also provides emergency tones throughout stations, delivers routing information to firefighters and advice on hydrant location. In its absence firefighters relied on a combination of Google Maps on their personal phones, Melway street directories, and separate apps. The union said neither the outages nor resolutions were communicated by management to firefighters -instead they became aware through communication between stations or a call from Triple Zero Victoria. In a letter sent to Commissioner Gavin Freeman seen by AAP, United Firefighters Union Secretary Peter Marshall said the failure of the critical systems put firefighters and the community at risk. "The failure of these systems has potentially grave impacts," Mr Marshall told AAP on Sunday. "Firefighters are resourceful in protecting public safety, but these failures make that job more difficult and dangerous." On Sunday, Fire Rescue Victoria confirmed it had experienced "intermittent technical issues" since May 24. "We are working closely with Triple Zero Victoria and external experts to investigate the underlying cause of these STO/Firecom outages and resolve the ongoing issue," a spokesperson said in a statement. "When STO/Firecom outages occur, FRV has contingency plans in place which ensure there is no impact to emergency response. "At no time has public safety been compromised and the community should continue to contact Triple Zero (000) as usual in an emergency." Victorian health minister Mary-Anne Thomas said cyber attacks were a real and present threat to both the private and public system. "It's important that all our public services have contingency plans in place should there be an incident, and that's what FRV implemented," Ms Thomas told reporters on Sunday. Questions still remain over the December 2022 cyber attack. The hack significantly affected Fire Rescue Victoria's technology and communications systems and exposed sensitive information. It also left the Firecom firefighting information system offline for a year, and affected the rostering system for much longer. More than two years after a cyber attack crippled communication systems, firefighters in one state are still being forced to use personal phones and printed maps to navigate to emergencies. Fire Rescue Victoria is investigating the cause of five system outages last month, which lasted up to seven hours at a time. The United Firefighters Union says the outages are risking public safety, a claim FRV strongly denies. The Station Turn Out (STO) system, used to dispatch crews to emergencies failed, with firefighters receiving phone calls from dispatchers asking if they had received notices to attend emergencies. The notices had never arrived. Firefighters and dispatchers had to rely on fallbacks and workarounds like manual phone calls, pagers, and pen and paper to respond to emergencies. The union says one outage occurred in late April, followed by the five in May. The same system also provides emergency tones throughout stations, delivers routing information to firefighters and advice on hydrant location. In its absence firefighters relied on a combination of Google Maps on their personal phones, Melway street directories, and separate apps. The union said neither the outages nor resolutions were communicated by management to firefighters -instead they became aware through communication between stations or a call from Triple Zero Victoria. In a letter sent to Commissioner Gavin Freeman seen by AAP, United Firefighters Union Secretary Peter Marshall said the failure of the critical systems put firefighters and the community at risk. "The failure of these systems has potentially grave impacts," Mr Marshall told AAP on Sunday. "Firefighters are resourceful in protecting public safety, but these failures make that job more difficult and dangerous." On Sunday, Fire Rescue Victoria confirmed it had experienced "intermittent technical issues" since May 24. "We are working closely with Triple Zero Victoria and external experts to investigate the underlying cause of these STO/Firecom outages and resolve the ongoing issue," a spokesperson said in a statement. "When STO/Firecom outages occur, FRV has contingency plans in place which ensure there is no impact to emergency response. "At no time has public safety been compromised and the community should continue to contact Triple Zero (000) as usual in an emergency." Victorian health minister Mary-Anne Thomas said cyber attacks were a real and present threat to both the private and public system. "It's important that all our public services have contingency plans in place should there be an incident, and that's what FRV implemented," Ms Thomas told reporters on Sunday. Questions still remain over the December 2022 cyber attack. The hack significantly affected Fire Rescue Victoria's technology and communications systems and exposed sensitive information. It also left the Firecom firefighting information system offline for a year, and affected the rostering system for much longer. More than two years after a cyber attack crippled communication systems, firefighters in one state are still being forced to use personal phones and printed maps to navigate to emergencies. Fire Rescue Victoria is investigating the cause of five system outages last month, which lasted up to seven hours at a time. The United Firefighters Union says the outages are risking public safety, a claim FRV strongly denies. The Station Turn Out (STO) system, used to dispatch crews to emergencies failed, with firefighters receiving phone calls from dispatchers asking if they had received notices to attend emergencies. The notices had never arrived. Firefighters and dispatchers had to rely on fallbacks and workarounds like manual phone calls, pagers, and pen and paper to respond to emergencies. The union says one outage occurred in late April, followed by the five in May. The same system also provides emergency tones throughout stations, delivers routing information to firefighters and advice on hydrant location. In its absence firefighters relied on a combination of Google Maps on their personal phones, Melway street directories, and separate apps. The union said neither the outages nor resolutions were communicated by management to firefighters -instead they became aware through communication between stations or a call from Triple Zero Victoria. In a letter sent to Commissioner Gavin Freeman seen by AAP, United Firefighters Union Secretary Peter Marshall said the failure of the critical systems put firefighters and the community at risk. "The failure of these systems has potentially grave impacts," Mr Marshall told AAP on Sunday. "Firefighters are resourceful in protecting public safety, but these failures make that job more difficult and dangerous." On Sunday, Fire Rescue Victoria confirmed it had experienced "intermittent technical issues" since May 24. "We are working closely with Triple Zero Victoria and external experts to investigate the underlying cause of these STO/Firecom outages and resolve the ongoing issue," a spokesperson said in a statement. "When STO/Firecom outages occur, FRV has contingency plans in place which ensure there is no impact to emergency response. "At no time has public safety been compromised and the community should continue to contact Triple Zero (000) as usual in an emergency." Victorian health minister Mary-Anne Thomas said cyber attacks were a real and present threat to both the private and public system. "It's important that all our public services have contingency plans in place should there be an incident, and that's what FRV implemented," Ms Thomas told reporters on Sunday. Questions still remain over the December 2022 cyber attack. The hack significantly affected Fire Rescue Victoria's technology and communications systems and exposed sensitive information. It also left the Firecom firefighting information system offline for a year, and affected the rostering system for much longer.
