In Brief

In becoming President it was my good fortune to build on the foundations laid by Bruce Conboy. The portfolio system has reaped its benefits in developing our expertise. The fact of life with CFA is that everything is aligned to the procreation of elephants, except that the gestation period is twice as long. One such is finally that brigade owned tankers are no longer the "enemy". Many of them will progress to Level 1 maintenance. Others will have hurdles to get over. It is the principle that is important. One suspects in the future they will eventually be absorbed into the CFA fleet.

The tanker of the future is no longer a dream and the 3.4C is now a reality. The members of the Joint Equip Review Committee led by Tom Brodie are to be commended for the battles they have won on this project. There is no price on common sense. Currently they are looking at the mock up concept of the replacement Medium Tanker. However there seems a distinct lack of will to develop the "fifth door" into the Hino/Isuzu cab chassis. The reality is that before we win this one some hundred will be in service. We are pursuing this one. It is what our people want and what ultimately we will get. The current impediment is to conduct burn over tests with the fifth door on the Mogo trial vehicle. EAS is coming as too is a mobile phone bridge. There are a number of aspects your team are not happy with, but progress is being made. I have an undertaking from the CEO that with the introduction, eventually, of the new structural ensemble, the existing turn out coats with rural brigades will be replaced with a windproof/waterproof addition to the wildfire ensemble.

In the past twelve months we have developed a standard rural fire station design which I believe is both functional and flexible.  Two of these stations have already been built.

It only takes one crook day to make a bad summer. All should be proud of their efforts this last summer. It was terrible in that we lost two fellow firefighters.  Elwyn was the good army wife who took the good with the bad and accompanied me to their funerals. Four months later the role was reversed.  It would be remiss of me not to thank all the members of the CFA family from the Chairman down for your support during the time the cancer struck her down until her farewell from the planet. In particular, Peter Downes as Senior Vice President and Bob MacDonald took on the workload. Should I be re elected, I give notice the welfare fund is back on the agenda. If you can stand a few metres from a nine year old, being handed his Dad’s helmet from the casket, knowing his destiny is being brought up on the Widow's Pension and can say we do not need a fund then you are a miserable B….

The concept of one volunteer association is proceeding well around the State. We have to get out of the 20th century and into the 21st. We cannot continue in our current mould which is six decades old. I do not view any fellow volunteer as the enemy. We must also engage with the younger generations of X and Y or we go the way of the dinosaurs. State Council has to become more user friendly. People with paid employment are disadvantaged with week day meetings. I believe in the next year we should trial State Council meetings on weekends.

Do not be distracted in the current dispute over the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement. It is not over pay. That is a done deal. It is not a conflict with our career firefighters. It is over power. It is whether we continue as second class citizens in our fire service. It is whether the United Firefighters Union representing less than half of one percent of CFA can continue to dominate us and in messing CFA around and mess us around in so many areas. It seems they cannot comprehend we are a volunteer fire service supported by career staff. They think it is the other way round. All the things we fought against the 1980s are now with us. Volunteer Fire Brigades is now doing what it was created for. There is nothing more vicious than when volunteer turns on volunteer. Always remember united we stand, divided we fall. Your leadership needs your support.

In the coming summer, take care, be safe and make sure you come home to your family.
 

BERNIE PEARSON
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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