Volunteer firefighters from the Orana zone who battle NSW blazes could receive up to $6000 in financial compensation, a move their representative body has met with cautious appreciation.
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the announcement at the weekend, saying it was not about paying the volunteers to turn out, but to cover income losses so they could keep fighting fires.
Payments of up to $300 per day will be available to NSW Rural Fire Service volunteers who are self-employed or work for small to medium business, with Mr Morrison saying it equated to about "20 days of emergency services paid leave".
It comes after calls for federal assistance to respond to the bushfire season, which at the weekend had already claimed eight lives in NSW, and as many as 1000 homes and millions of hectares of bushland.
NSW Rural Fire Service Association president Brian McDonough said it was pleasing the federal government was supporting people giving their time to serve on the ground, although he was not aware of anyone in hardship.
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"I think it's great the government has stepped in to help anybody who's in financial difficulty as a result of their volunteering," he said.
"I'm a little surprised people have come to that, usually life and family come before volunteering, but if people have felt the need that they must volunteer and give up income, then I think it's great the government has stepped in to help out."
Tenterfield shire-based Mr McDonough called the 2019-2020 season "exceptional" and did not expect payments would become the norm.
"I think once we get through this difficult period, and start getting a bit of rain, this offering will probably cease and we'll go back to volunteering our time to fight fires," he said.
Wongarbon's Ian Stanford, a volunteer firefighter for 40 years, urged caution with offering payments.
"You have to be careful you don't undermine the concept of what a volunteer is," he said.
"I've got no problem in extraordinary times in volunteers being partly compensated for their loss of income and wages as a one-off, but you have to be careful not to make it a paid role.
"It is an extraordinary time, this should not be the norm."
The payments will be equivalent to 20 days of emergency leave for eligible volunteers, are capped at $6000 per person, are tax-free and retrospective for the financial year.
Faye Wheeler
I have been a journalist for more than a decade and in that time I have been keeping Daily Liberal readers up to date about issues affecting them and what's happening in their community. Throughout my career I have covered a range of rounds and most recently I have been focusing on the business round.
I have been a journalist for more than a decade and in that time I have been keeping Daily Liberal readers up to date about issues affecting them and what's happening in their community. Throughout my career I have covered a range of rounds and most recently I have been focusing on the business round.
