MURRAY Cowper has slammed Western Australia’s fire commissioner Wayne Gregson over comments he made on the forthcoming Ferguson report into January’s devastating Waroona/Yarloop bushfires.
The state member for Murray called on fire and emergency services minister Joe Francis to “rein in” Mr Gregson over his “pre-emptive strike” on volunteer firefighting services in the state.
Mr Gregson said in a media interview Monday local government-run volunteer bushfire brigades should instead be under control of state government, as it was unsustainable to co-ordinate firefighting brigades via local government during emergencies, such as bushfires.
Mr Cowper said the Commissioner had placed his minister in an untenable position by going public on his call to restructure the industry.
“Victims and firefighters throughout the fire area, and those of us in government charged with the responsibility of setting new policy, are entitled to an impartial report and to a strong say in the process of tangible reform,” he said.
Instead, Mr Cowper said, they have been given a bureaucracy “already under investigation, trying to set an agenda that clearly favours its own position”.
“There is already rising disquiet in my electorate, particularly in Waroona and Yarloop, about the indecision and dysfunction that continues to hamper the aftermath of the disaster,” Mr Cowper said.
“By pre-empting unpopular reforms that would blatantly strengthen its future position, DFES is playing a very dangerous game indeed.”
