OUTCOME OF THE RURAL FIRE REVIEW THROUGH PARLIAMENT Ted Malone MP has announced that all recommendations of the Malone Review were adopted by the Queensland Cabinet on Monday 22nd April, and that the next step commenced last week with work commencing on the formation of the implementation team under Ted Malones’ oversight. The outline of the Malone review will see Deputy Chief Officers reporting to a Chief Officer in Queensland which will truly create “One Service” in the provision of an all hazards approach, which has not existed in Queensland previously. With the RFSQ, Urban Fire Service, SES, VMR, Coastguard and other Volunteer organisations, this true “One Service” approach will allow for communities to defend themselves more effectively and allow for the timely provision of response and recovery resources across the whole of Queensland. The RFBAQ sees this as the Newman Government as delivering on their campaign commitment to Brigades and the RFBAQ, and looks forward to the speedy implementation of the implementation team. Below is an extract from yesterdays’ Hansard FIRST SESSION OF THE FIFTY-FOURTH PARLIAMENT Tuesday, 30 April 2013 Mr MALONE (Mirani—LNP) (12.00 pm): Last week the Malone review of the Rural Fire Service was presented to cabinet and cabinet adopted all of the recommendations in the review. In total, my report presented 91 recommendations formed as a result of extensive consultation with more than 1,500 volunteers and Rural Fire Service staff, including consideration of more than 240 written submissions received by the team. The review team, which I led, recommended a new model that supports volunteers and returns decision making to local officers with local knowledge. The renamed Rural Fire Service Queensland will now answer to its own deputy commissioner. The new model will increase local engagement and decision making; properly recognise the role of volunteers and increase support for them to do their job; re-establish the balance between mitigation and response, giving greater emphasis to bushfire mitigation and land management through the establishment of a district fire management group; address concerns that existing rural fire and SES arrangements could be made more efficient and coordinated; recognise the expertise of rural fire volunteers in bushfire management and establish structures that allow them to independently implement this expertise; and establish advisory mechanisms that draw on the experience of a wide range of stakeholders in volunteer management, land management, fire operations and disaster management. The Rural Fire Service is the backbone of the state’s protection from bushfires and there are approximately 35,000 rural firefighters in communities right across Queensland. I want to thank the members of my team for helping me sound out volunteers and other community members and to document their concerns, which was quite a job. I want to thank the member for Sandgate, Kerry Millard; Andrew Houley from Reef Catchments Mackay; Mike Garrahy, President of the Rural Fire Brigades Association of Queensland; and Bryan Cifuentes, the northern district inspector of rural fires in the peninsula. The review report contains very positive messages about the capability of rural and regional people to know best how to manage their land and what support they need from the government to enable them to do that. The report suggests practical, local solutions that strengthen fire management and reduce red tape and bureaucracy. The final report of the Keelty review into police and emergency services will be handed down on 30 June 2013. It is likely that recommendations from that review will overlap some of the rural fire review recommendations, but mostly only with regard to its fit within emergency services in Queensland in the upcoming period. In the meantime, I will be engaging with the implementation group to implement the review’s recommendations as quickly as possible.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 04:36:46 +0000
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