Bendigo firefighters claim the Victorian Premier has ignored repeated warnings over an unused fire station in her own electorate built in response to Black Saturday recommendations.
Bendigo firefighter accuses Premier Jacinta Allan of ignoring warnings over $2.4m fire station lying idle Firefighters claim the Victorian Premier has ignored repeated warnings over an unused fire station in her own electorate built in response to Black Saturday recommendations.
Bendigo firefighters say they cannot get a word with local member and Premier Jacinta Allan to raise concerns over a fire station which has remained empty for more than four years. The box-fresh fire station in East Bendigo was completed in June 2022 at a cost of $2.4 million in response to recommendations from the Black Saturday Bushfires Royal Commission.
It will remain unused until upgrade applications are approved for an existing Fire Rescue and Country Fire Authority facility are granted. A local United Firefighters Union delegate on Wednesday said he had tried to raise concerns about the wastage and firefighting preparedness on multiple occasions. Simon Thomas said he had not been able to meet with the Premier in his ten years in the job at Bendigo.
“Within that time I’ve emailed her probably 15 to 20 times highlighting the issues that we’re experiencing in Bendigo and around the state,” he said. He said a lot of the recommendations from the Black Saturday Royal Commission had been met.
“But for some reason this one is sitting idle... even though on the government’s own website they’ve got it listed as completed,” he said. Sky News host Peta Credlin said those who pay for the emergency services likely expected the money was “at least” looking after firefighters and giving them what they needed to keep people safe.
“ raises billions and billions of dollars, so where does the money go? I have no idea where that money goes.
“We’re fed up, we’re fed up with being underfunded and we’re fed up with our trucks breaking down, and we need it fixed. ” Simon Thomas said he had not met with the Premier in his ten years in the job at Bendigo despite more than one dozen emails requesting a sit-down.
Picture: Sky News Australia“Everyone wants to stand with firefighters, everyone wants this government held accountable or kicked out at the election and that is a sentiment that we’re hearing right across the state,” Mr Thomas said.
“They haven’t managed our money well. They’re the custodians of our money, are meant to spend it wisely and I see it’s just getting blown no matter where they go. ” The vacant building on Murphy Street in Bendigo is intended for use as a temporary fire station when upgrades commence on the town’s central fire station. Murphy Street will be used once planning has been approved and demolition and construction begins at the Hargreaves Street site.
Firefighters have grown more vocal with calls to change the Victorian government. Picture: Sky News Australia Fire Rescue Victoria, however, continue to use the ageing building and the CFA has rented another site for use in town, according to Herald Sun reports from January. On Wednesday, state opposition leader Jess Wilson told Sky News Australia the saga was"emblematic" of the current government.
"The fact that we continue to see this waste of taxpayer money building a new fire station and then keeping it closed for years because the government can't afford to ensure that that fire station has the fireies and the equiptment to make sure that it can open just speaks volumes to the fact this government has its priorities all wrong," she said.
Jacinta Allan Bendigo Fire Station Black Saturday Bushfires Royal Commission Firefighter Union
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