Anthony Albanese says volunteer firefighters should also be eligible for one-off payments or special leave entitlementsNSW urged to further professionalise firefighting force as Labor calls for volunteers to get tax breaksThe New South Wales government is facing calls to consider further professionalising its firefighting force as the unprecedented bushfire crisis gripping the state stretches volunteers to their limit. “The RFS is a volunteers organisation, they’re not really designed to sustain these long campaigns,” he said. On Thursday, Callow joined the union’s secretary, Leighton Drury, in calling for the state government to increase funding to lift the number of professional firefighters in NSW. “They’ve got to eat, they’ve got to sleep, and they’ve got to eventually go back to their normal jobs,” he said. It doesn’t necessarily mean professionalisation but it could be opportunities for volunteers who want to be paid firefighters,” he said.

Source: The Guardian December 20, 2019 06:00 UTC