Victoria’s forest firefighting capability has been crippled, with the entire G-Wagon and Unimog fleet pulled off the road indefinitely amid serious safety concerns — just weeks before fire season.
Used by Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic) for rapid response and access to remote terrain, the fleet has been grounded for the second time, despite Premier Allan warning this could be one of the most dangerous fire seasons in years.
Launched in 2017 under Labor’s $32 million “state-of-the-art” upgrade, the vehicles were touted as world-class firefighting assets.
Now, all are parked up due to chassis and sub-frame faults, forcing CFA volunteers to fill the gap and stretching already overworked brigades.
Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Minister for Emergency Services, Danny O’Brien, said it was extraordinary that the same government which boasted about the vehicles’ cutting-edge design has now sidelined the entire fleet.
“Labor promised Victorians a state-of-the-art firefighting fleet – eight years later – Labor has delivered a world-class failure,” Mr O’Brien said.
“When the Premier warns of a dangerous fire season, Victorians deserve answers on how this failure was allowed to happen and what steps will be taken to ensure community safety.”
Mr O’Brien called on Premier Allan to reveal how many vehicles are affected and what contingencies are in place to protect communities.
“Victorians are paying an additional $3 billion through Labor’s new emergency services tax, yet the CFA is relying on ageing vehicles and is now being asked to cover for FFMV, an organisation now being funded by these additional taxes,” he said.
Shadow Minister for Public Land Management, Melina Bath, slammed the Allan Labor Government for leaving regional Victoria dangerously exposed ahead of a high-risk fire season.
“Grounding Victoria’s frontline fleet weeks before fire season is an unacceptable failure, given nearly 40 per cent of the state is public land.
“Labor’s flawed bushfire policy ‘Safer Together’ has delivered just 1.6 per cent of land treated for fuel reduction annually since 2015 and the government
routinely fails to meet its own fuel-driven risk targets.
“Victorians are paying more but getting less protection. Labor’s failure to manage bushfire preparedness is putting lives at risk,” said Ms Bath.
“At a time when we need every piece of equipment and personnel working to reduce risk, it is our CFA volunteers who are asked to carry the load with ageing equipment and limited resources.
“Labor can’t manage money or emergency services while Victorians pay the price.”
