Firefighting associations call for federal royal commission into deadly bushfire crisis - 9 News 8/1/20

Firefighting associations across Australia are calling for a federal royal commission into the deadly bushfire crisis currently gripping Australia. Association secretaries from NSW, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia have called for urgent action which crosses state lines and provides more resources across the board. "There has been a complete failure federally to coordinate activity across various jurisdictions," Stewart Little, General Secretary of Public Service…

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Firefighters demand national royal commission amid claims of red tape hampering volunteers - ABC 08/01/2020

Firefighting associations are claiming more than 7,000 people are stuck in a backlog trying to rejoin volunteer firefighting efforts in New South Wales, as professional and volunteer firefighter associations demand an urgent royal commission into the unfolding bushfire crisis. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-08/firefighting-associations-demand-national-royal-commission/11852180?pfmredir=sm

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Proposed changes to role descriptions

The Commissioner of Victims Rights has advised the PSA of proposed changes to role descriptions. The draft role descriptions can be found HERE. The PSA understands Victims Services intends to transition to a rotating roster of Specialist Victims Support Service staff to provide the on-call response. The roster will be staffed by 6 x 7/8 ‘Specialist Victims Client Officers’, 2 x 9/10 ‘Coordinator Specialist Victims…

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PSA Legal Fund for Youth Justice members

Youth Justice Members perform an incredibly important role in NSW Communities & Justice, Youth Justice, by providing safety and security to clients, visitors and your colleagues. At times this can be dangerous and difficult work. In 2019, the PSA launched a new Legal Fund for members working in the Justice sector, including Youth Justice. The PSA strongly encourages every Youth Justice member to join the…

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Obsolete technology is blinding the Rural Fire Service - SMH 09/01/2020

Everyone is discussing how to help the Rural Fire Service (RFS). Perhaps the best place to start is with the current communication and computing equipment. It is obsolete and presents serious problems both for a brigade and its fire control centre, which will only get worse as fires get more frequent, larger and more complex. This applies to all phases of a callout. https://www.smh.com.au/national/obsolete-technology-is-blinding-the-rural-fire-service-20200108-p53pps.html

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