Despite 6 months passing since concerns were raised, a new Minister and a budget, the Burdekin community is still searching for answers when it comes to the Ayr Fire & Rescue Station according to Member for Burdekin, Dale Last.
While Labor’s budget included $4 Million toward remediation works at the current station, Mr Last said the lack of funding for a new station and a failure to address staffing issues meant a lack of certainty for staff and the wider community.
“It’s more than 5 years since PFAS chemicals were detected in Ayr’s drinking water and more than 4 years since the detailed site investigation was completed1,” Mr Last said. “In 5 years the best that this government can do is to find a half-baked solution that would leave local firefighters trying to respond to emergencies from an excavation site.”
“Not only have our local firefighters been unable to undertake essential training on site for years, now they face the prospect of being surrounded by excavators or being pushed into some sort of temporary facility. Labor just doesn’t get it; these are the people we rely on to save lives and this community will not stand by while an arrogant government refuses to treat them with the respect they deserve.”
“For years now we have been asking for the Detailed Site Investigation which we now know was provided to the Labor government in February 2020 at the latest. Even if the remediation works started today it would be more than 4 ½ years that Labor has left staff exposed to carcinogenic compounds.”
Mr Last said the physical surroundings weren’t the only factor putting staff at the Ayr station, and the wider community, at greater risk.
“Outside of the permanent staff’s rostered hours, auxiliary firefighters are called upon to respond to emergencies,” Mr Last said. “In fact, what we are seeing is permanent staff going above and beyond to keep their community safe.”
“What we saw over a two year period was only 1 out of 318 calls for service responded to solely by auxiliary firefighters. And a quarter of the time there were no auxiliaries available to respond.”
“Responding to emergencies is a high-pressure scenario where decisions can literally mean the difference between life and death. For the permanent staff to be asked to respond after working a full day is a recipe for disaster due to fatigue.”
“The reduction in the number of auxiliary firefighters who are available to respond means that in a lot of cases, full time staff have been on call 24/7 for years now.”
“What we have seen from the full time staff is the polar opposite of what we have seen from Labor. The staff have shown dedication and sacrifice in the name of their community while the Labor government has shown complete contempt.”
“Despite working out of a 65 year old station and having to use an 18 year old appliance, the full time staff have responded each and every time they have been called on. The question is how long can we expect them to keep doing that?”
“You have to ask what it will take for Labor to do the right thing by the community and our firefighters. Do we have to wait until someone is diagnosed with a life-threatening disease or for someone to die before this government actually lives up to its mantra of keeping Queenslanders safe?”
“If the Minister or her predecessor were actually serious about these issues, we would have seen action by now or, at least, a commitment in the budget for a new station. Instead, this government has put the cart before the horse and expects our firefighters to continue to put their lives at risk, and on hold, to cover for Labor’s inaction.”
“This community appreciates our emergency services and we stand by them because they are there for us in our time of need. We will not stop raising these issues until we are assured of a new station and the staffing model is addressed to ensure the safety of our local firefighters and the community.”
“If the Minister and Labor think they can leave this community in limbo they are even more ignorant than we thought. All we are asking for is for our community to be kept safe and for our local firefighters to be respected but, sadly, it seems Labor thinks we will settle for half-baked ideas and weasel words.”
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