Parks and Wildlife funding cuts in the spotlight as NSW Nationals play the blame game - The Mandarin 13/11/19

The New South Wales deputy premier and the agriculture minister both say the National Parks and Wildlife Service did not do enough in the lead-up to the bushfire season, but the public sector union says the government has “crippled” the agency with budget cuts and restructuring. Deputy Premier and NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro told The Australian the NPWS had failed to carry out enough backburning. At state…

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Bushfire affected residents vent frustrations about cuts to RFS, National Parks staff - ABC Radio 13/11/19

As crews continue to fight out-of-control blazes in New South Wales, some residents have aired frustrations about cuts to both firefighting and national parks staff. The New South Wales Premier has repeatedly shot down claims of cuts to the two organisations, but one former National Parks manager says staff are severely stretched and unable to properly manage bushfire risk. Duration: 4min 8sec Broadcast: Wed 13 Nov 2019,…

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Barilaro pours more fuel on bushfire spat - Blue Mountains Gazette 13/11/19

Deputy Premier John Barilaro has poured fuel on an explosive spat with a union after his party was accused of hindering bushfire preparations across NSW with "crippling" staff cuts. A political blame game has broken - even as bushfires continue to rage - with Mr Barilaro criticising the National Parks and Wildlife Service for not doing enough hazard reduction in the lead-up to the fire…

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Labor question reveals discrepancy in Berejiklian government figures on fire-trained rangers - Daily Telegraph 13/11/19

The state opposition has questioned the Berejiklian government’s claim that the number of fire-trained staff in the National Parks and Wildlife Service stands at 1226 when figures show there were just over 1000 only four months ago. As of 1 July, there were 1044 staff qualified for firefighting duties within the agency, according to answers from the government in response to a question on notice…

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Danger of cutbacks to rangers burns NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro - The Australian 13/11/19

A fierce feud has ignited between NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro and the National Parks and Wildlife Service following revelations the number of rangers, who perform hazard reduction burns, has been cut by a third since the Coalition came to power in 2011. The Public Service Association has accused Mr Barilaro of gross hypocrisy after the Deputy Premier blamed the department for contributing to the…

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