Anthony Albanese calls for volunteers fighting record bushfires to be paid

Anthony Albanese has called for tax breaks and special leave payments for volunteer firefighters battling a record fire season.

Mr Albanese said volunteer firies were ‘giving up months’ of their time to keep their communities safe and should be compensated.

The opposition leader’s call comes after Prime Minister Scott Morrison dismissed a remuneration scheme for volunteer firefighters, arguing ‘they wanted to be there’. 

Mr Albanese suggested a range of compensation for ‘brave volunteers’  including tax breaks, leave payments and support for businesses giving them time off.

The payments are necessary as they ‘still have to put food on the table and they still have to pay their mortgage’ he told Sunrise

‘These people are showing their commitment to their communities and the nation and they deserve an equal commitment back. 

‘No one should be forced to choose between…. helping out if they can’t afford to do so.

Mr Morrison last week said volunteer firefighters didn’t need to be paid as they wanted to be on the front line. 

‘They’re tired, but they also want to be out there defending their communities,’ he told reporters last Tuesday. 

‘We do all we can to rotate the shifts to give them those breaks but equally, in many cases, you’ve got to hold them back to make sure they get that rest. I thank them all for what they’re doing.’

Rural Fire Service (RFS) crews work to protect a property from a bushfire in Buxton, NSW

Mr Morrison said the government was not considering treating volunteers like professionals.

‘We are constantly looking at ways we can better facilitate the volunteer effort but to professionalise that, at that scale, is not a matter that has previously been accepted and is not a matter that’s currently under consideration by the government,’ he said. 

Mr Albanese said strong ‘national leadership’ was needed with Australia experiencing an unprecedented bush fire crisis which is expected to rage on for months.

‘This isn’t business as usual… they’re fatigued, they’re tired’ he said as he visited fire crews who have been fighting blazes threatening the area around Kurrajong, New South Wales, since October.  

The call comes after two volunteer firefighters gave up their lives fighting a blaze overnight. 

Andrew O’Dwyer, 36, and Geoffrey Keaton, 32,  were killed when their truck rolled off the road near Buxton, South of Sydney.

There have also been reports of rural firefighters struggling to get leave from their employers or be compensated for their time away from work,

Rural Fire Service crews work on a blaze threatening homes along the Old Hume Highway near the NSW town of Tahmoor

Rural Fire Service crews work on a blaze threatening homes along the Old Hume Highway near the NSW town of Tahmoor

Mr Albanese said it was time for a national bushfire summit to discuss remuneration and other factors impacting the volunteer arm of firefighters.

‘You’d need to balance that with a full analysis of where leave is allowed by existing employers and making sure that existing employers weren’t disadvantaged or it didn’t encourage the withdrawal of existing leave arrangements that gave an advantage to volunteer firefighters,’ he said.

‘These are issues that need looking at and what we know now is there’s a problem here.

‘People shouldn’t have to choose between going and helping their community and missing out on their basic income.

‘They still need to pay their rent, they still need to buy food, and they still need to look after their family and their kids.’

Andrew O'Dwyer was killed when his truck rolled off the road after hitting a fallen tree last night at Buxton, south of Sydney

Geoffrey Keaton was killed when his truck rolled off the road after hitting a fallen tree last night at Buxton, south of Sydney

Andrew O’Dwyer (left) and Geoffrey Keaton (right) were killed when their truck rolled off the road after hitting a fallen tree last night at Buxton, south of Sydney

Mr Albanese said he was disappointed by Mr Morrison’s decision to not hold an urgent Council of Australian Governments meeting where this issues around  bushfire preparedness could be addressed.

‘Disaster preparedness is a national issue which deserves national leadership,’ he said.

‘Unfortunately, leadership is not what we see from the Prime Minister, who continue to bury his head in the sand, ignoring the warnings and pleas from experts, scientists and communities.’

Scott Morrison last week who rejected calls that volunteers firefighters needed to be paid saying 'they want to be out there'

Scott Morrison last week who rejected calls that volunteers firefighters needed to be paid saying ‘they want to be out there’

Mr Morrison said Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud had met with state and territory counterparts as recently as November 20 as part of regular meetings which discussed issues around bushfires so an additional summit was not necessary.  

‘The State Government gets everything they request from the Commonwealth and there is a national co-ordinated process for requests to be made up to the Commonwealth for that assistance, whether that is of a logistics and support arrangement,’ Mr Morrison said.

‘That’s what was intended to be set up and that is what is operating and I’m pleased with the way those arrangements are being worked out and if there is any other matter that would need to be addressed, it would be raised with the Commonwealth, because there is a direct line to make sure that happens.’  



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