From the CEO - Royal Commission

As you will no doubt be aware, following the Black Saturday fires on 7 February, a Royal Commission has been appointed to examine the circumstances leading up to the late January and February 2009 fires. Following its investigations, the Commission will then make recommendations in an interim report on 17 August 2009, which will address immediate actions that can be taken before the 2009/10 fire season. The Commission’s final report is due on 31 July 2010.

Most of you will probably not have been involved in a Royal Commission. Many of you will be asking what it means and how it’s going to affect the organisation. Well, the answer is twofold.

First, the Commission will affect CFA and we will be dedicating significant time and resources in providing the Commissioners with all they ask for. Second, and this may sound contradictory, in some areas we will not be affected at all. Because as much as we must and are keen to help the Commission, we must also continue providing Victoria with our emergency service capability.

In fact, perhaps the most critical evidence we can provide the Commission is the evidence of getting on with business. We are a highly trained and expertly skilled service. We already constantly review and improve the way we provide our services. The Royal Commission will help that process as it looks at aspects of CFA. So the Commission should be seen as an opportunity, not an obstacle, for CFA’s natural and ongoing improvement.

Fires aren’t about one-off events that are over and done with in a day. We don’t have the luxury of being able to close down our operations to reflect on what happened. There were fires before 7 February. There have been fires since.

Tuesday and Wednesday are shaping up as severe weather days and we will, in all likelihood, be battling new blazes.

And that’s just the bushfires. As we all know, CFA is about so much more.

So while the Royal Commission will be a focus for us and an opportunity to improve, it is not the be-all and end-all of CFA for the next 18 months. We will be honest, frank and forthright in what we tell the Commission. And we will remain committed, professional and passionate about our normal operations.

To put it simply, the Stretton Royal Commission that followed the 1939 fires laid the foundation for the Victorian fire services for the next 70 years. With the changes in climate, population and technology, this current Royal Commission will hopefully take a similar step into the future for fire management in Victoria.

I want to encourage you to stay focussed, as we all must, on upholding and advancing the services that make us indispensable to Victoria. And again, I want to thank you for your professionalism and perseverance through what has been a difficult time for us all.

Neil Bibby AFSM
CEO

Links:
Premier's media release - Fires Royal Commission to have wide terms of reference

Royal Commission Terms of Reference (390k)