The contention over the development of a fully-independent fire service in the Murray-Wellington region continues, with newly-elected Labor MP Robyn Clarke hoping to establish community discussion before the next fire season.
Ms Clarke is hoping to have a proposal to present to state caucus on the establishment of a rural fire service before the next season, an issue which has dogged the various branches of emergency services in the area especially since the Waroona Yarloop bushfires.
“I’ve been open with the agencies involved, and following on from the Ferguson Enquiry, have said to them the only way we’re going to get something out of this is to sit down and actually work out what the issues and differences are,” she said.
“There are those saying the report is asking for a gold standard of a rural fire service, and I can see how there is dispute there. But there needs to be an agreement, because in the end they’re the ones on the front line, they’re the ones that are largely representing their own communities.”
