NSW councils hoping for a swift resolution to long running ownership issues surrounding the Rural Fire Service Red Fleet have been left disappointed with the NSW Government’s response to a parliamentary inquiry.
The NSW Government has released its Response to the Parliamentary Accounts Committee Inquiry into the assets, premises and funding of the NSW Rural Fire Service, declining to immediately accept recommendations that the Red Fleet be recognised as NSW RFS assets. Instead, the Government has determined that an audit of assets, condition assessments and a business case must be completed before any transfer decision is made.
Country Mayors Association of NSW chairman Rick Firman said councils were frustrated by the delay, following what he described as a comprehensive inquiry process.
“After the comprehensive Inquiry that received 78 submissions and heard directly from multiple councils and other stakeholders, the Government’s response is to call for further studies and reports which has the potential to push the resolution of this issue out by years,” Firman said.
The CMA board and its 96 members had welcomed the establishment of the 2025 inquiry, hopeful it would resolve inefficiencies linked to the ownership and control of the Red Fleet, which includes the state’s rural firefighting equipment.
“By a quirk of legislation, written over 25 years ago, Councils are forced to reflect the Red Fleet assets on their books despite having no effective control over them, in any real sense, has long been a highly inappropriate situation,” Mayor Firman said.
Mayor Firman said the association had engaged extensively with NSW Emergency Services Minister the Hon Jihad Dib MP and Treasurer the Hon Daniel Mookhey MLC during the inquiry process.
“Both Treasurer Mookhey and Minister Dib have been generous with their time and candid with their comments, and we also acknowledge there has been much work done already to try and address this most important issue to our CMA Board and our 96 Members,” he said.
Despite those discussions, the CMA said it was deeply disappointed that many of the inquiry’s most significant recommendations were either noted or not supported in the Government’s response.
“Our CMA Board have written to Minister Dib, to strongly encourage the Minister to ensure the Red Fleet issue is resolved appropriately and in a timely manner. If further studies are required before the decision is made on the transfer is made, then those studies need to be undertaken without delay and of course funded by the State Government,” Mayor Firman said.
A further meeting with Minister Dib has been requested to raise the association’s concerns.
In May, the Public Accounts Committee recommended transferring legal ownership of the Red Fleet to the RFS, amending the Rural Fires Act 1997 to clarify responsibility for maintenance, mitigation and future premises, and updating outdated ownership and accounting arrangements. The recommendations were warmly welcomed by the local government sector.
Local Government NSW president Phyllis Miller said at the time the findings reflected long held positions of councils and LGNSW.
“This significant win comes after years of strong advocacy from LGNSW and from individual councils,” Miller said.
She said while councils strongly supported the work of the RFS, they had no control over the acquisition, deployment or disposal of Red Fleet assets.
“The Board and our Members genuinely acknowledge and believe the NSW Government wish to sort this issue out for us. We are taking them at their word and look forward to a fair dinkum and positive outcome,” Firman said.
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