It is simply bad government.

Under the CFA Act, volunteers must be fully consulted on any proposed change by government that affects their organisation, operations, service delivery, support and rights, before any decision is made. This ensures decisions are made based on all aspects of community safety. Friday’s decision has never been a matter discussed or subject of consultation with CFA volunteers, which is a legal requirement of the CFA Act.

Like it tried last year, the Victorian Government is again trying to circumvent its obligations and requirements under Victoria’s emergency management laws, in particular the CFA Act, through an industrial deal. It claims last October’s Fair Work Act amendments by the Turnbull government have forced its hand. Nothing could be further from the truth. The FWA amendments did no more than back up Victoria’s own emergency management laws and prevent the use of industrial agreements registered under the FWA from setting them aside.

The current CFA system of volunteer-based operations with integration of paid staff where needed ensures effective and affordable public safety service standards for Victorians. In the CFA, paid staff are supposed to support and supplement volunteers to deliver CFA services. This system ensures high level community resilience with local communities engaged in planning, preparing and responding to emergencies and recovering from them through their local volunteers. 

Importantly, urban and regional volunteers are the backbone of Victoria’s capacity to respond to emergencies and long duration disasters across the state, particularly during the fire season. This system is likely to be axed under the government’s decision. 

The Victorian government wants to use their new fire service structure to ram through the union’s agreement, giving them large scale control over Victoria’s fire services. Volunteers will be replaced by paid staff in delivering urban services with volunteers effectively relegated to a secondary role. This will undermine community safety and cost taxpayers and their households an arm and a leg.

Andrew Ford, chief executive, Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria

THOUSANDS of Victorian cancer patients are missing out on potentially life-prolonging treatment as clinical trial participation rates stagnate.

Only about six per cent of Victorians with a cancer diagnosis have been recruited to a clinical trial, and rates have remained static for more than a decade. Results of clinical trials have proved crucial in improving survival rates and quality of life for people with cancer. Without participants, researchers cannot make these breakthroughs. 

International Clinical Trials Day, on Friday, is a time to bust some of the myths that could be deterring people from joining a clinical trial. One misperception is that trials are risky – but I stress all test treatments go through a rigorous testing program before being used on patients and that trials available in Victorian hospitals are overseen by Human Research Ethics Committees.

If people are concerned or have questions about participating in a trial they can call Cancer Council’s 13 11 20 cancer information and support nurses. 

In 2015, about 2000 people with cancer were recruited into a cancer clinical trial and there were almost 500 trials open at different sites across Victoria.

To assist people with cancer and their families in accessing trials, Cancer Council Victoria has enhanced its Victorian Cancer Trials Link website. To find out more visit cancervic.org.au/trials

Todd Harper, chief executive, Cancer Council Victoria