THE Wimmera’s firefighter representatives have welcomed the passage of legislation designed to protect volunteers from interference.
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The Fair Work Amendment (Respect for Emergency Services Volunteers) Bill passed the Senate late on Monday night with the support of all independent Senators except Jacqui Lambie.
The amendments make it unlawful for any enterprise agreements to undermine volunteers, and strike out any existing provisions deemed to do so.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the legislation was designed to prevent a Country Fire Authority workplace agreement that he claimed would discriminate against volunteers and give the United Firefighters Union a management veto.
Victorian Emergency Services Minister James Merlino said the federal government’s intervention was a political stunt and a farce.
Volunteer Firefighter Brigades Victoria District 17 Councillor Maurice Dumesny said he was bewildered that the issue had required this type of action.
“It went to the federal level for volunteers to be heard. If the state government had listened to us three months ago, we could have avoided all this,” he said.
Volunteer brigades District 16 councillor Mick Nunweek said he believed the state government would now be forced to remove clauses that sparked a statewide protest.
“For Country Fire Authority volunteers, it’s fantastic news,” hes said.
“The legislation is there so that if something like this happened again, it can’t go forward.
“It’s great for volunteers firefighters and state emergence services across Australia.”
Mr Nunweek said volunteers had no issue with paid firefighters receiving more pay and better conditions under the agreement, but they did not want interference.
“There’s been some concern that this is still dragging on into fire season, but volunteer firefighters are trained and ready,” he said.
District 16 president Peter Hannon said he was glad the legislation had passed with a chance of strengthening the group’s court case against the agreement.