The Volunteer Firefighters Association (VFFA) is continuing its push for the state government to put the “rural back into Rural Fire Service (RFS)” and relocate its headquarters to a regional centre like Dubbo.
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VFFA is advocating the headquarters – currently located in Lidcombe – be relocated to regional NSW, with suggested locations being Parkes, Forbes, Dubbo or Orange.
Such a move has the potential to bring hundreds of jobs to rural people.
The VFFA held its annual general meeting and conference in Parkes on August 6 and the issue was hot on the agenda.
Parkes mayor Ken Keith, Forbes mayor Phyllis Miller, former deputy mayor of Dubbo and Local Government NSW board member Ben Shields, Member of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party Robert Brown and Nationals candidate for the seat of Orange Scott Barrett were among those present.
Mr Keith argued for Parkes as the site. The town being centrally located in NSW and on the Newell Highway, a transcontinental rail line linking the eastern seaboard to Perth and a regional airport were his prime reasons.
He said he had spoken with RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons and Emergency Services Minister David Elliott about the issue when the pair were in Parkes.
“We’ve been told it’s unlikely to come further west of the Blue Mountains...they’re looking at the Parramatta area,” Mr Keith said.
He said he was told the headquarters needed to be close to other services and there were good media contacts in the city.
“But with technology today, the media is just as accessible in Parkes, Dubbo or Orange,” he said.
Ms Miller said she could lobby for the RFS to be relocated to a regional area at the Local Government NSW Annual Conference.
Mr Shields encouraged the state government not to be “too shy to push this agenda”.
“Already there has been great successes at de-centralisation. They successfully moved the Department of Primary Industries to Orange. The Department of Local Government is located in Nowra,” he said.
“These are clearly precedents that prove de-centralisation can and does work.
“For the RFS HQ to be located in Dubbo would be a game changer for our city and central west NSW. It would instantly become the city’s largest employer.”
Mr Shields suggested the RFS could work in with other agencies like the Royal Flying Doctor base in Dubbo. Dubbo Airport also boasted flights to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Newcastle.
“RFS volunteers know it’s better in the country...even a parliamentary inquiry has worked out it’s better in the country – all we need now is that the cabinet acknowledges it’s better in the country,” he said.
