AS THE State faces potentially the worst fire season in decades, the O'Farrell government has ordered the Rural Fire Service (RFS) to slash $11.7 million from its salary budget.
Emergency Services Minister Michael Gallacher said the cuts would not affect frontline positions but Rural Fire Service Association president Brian McKinlay said the loss of behind-the-scenes jobs would affect the ability of frontline staff to assist volunteers in fighting fires.
"All government agencies have been asked to reduce its employee related costs. I have been assured that the restructure will not affect frontline services that support the thousands of volunteer rural firefighters in NSW," Mr Gallacher said.
Mr McKinlay said the cuts - which will be made in the next four years - would impact frontline staff.
"You can say the words but there is an effect. While there may not be an effect through district officers, who have the direct relationships with volunteers, there is an effect in the support to those district officers," he said.
Mr McKinlay said he struggled to see the gain to the State government bottom line.
"The government only contributes one seventh of the RFS global budget so therefore the net gain to the Treasury bottom line is only one-seventh (of $11.7m)," he said.
"If the government wants to make cuts, let's understand how they're going to affect (the RFS) and keep them proportional with the government's input into the RFS."
Opposition leader John Robertson claimed 120 jobs would be lost from RFS headquarters.
"These cuts will make it harder for the RFS to fight what is expected to be a horror fire season - with serious consequences, especially for people who live in or around bush land areas," he said.
"This is the worst time to be making cuts and restructuring the RFS, with high fuel loads and forecast hot dry weather expected to combine this summer - increasing the risk of bush fires.
"Cutting jobs from the RFS is dangerous, irresponsible and goes against everything Barry O'Farrell promised when he became Premier.
"The O'Farrell government should reverse these cuts immediately."
RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons has called for expressions of interest from staff in voluntary redundancies and employment mobility and said the two options would "provide flexibility in shaping the future structure" of the RFS while maintaining key positions, "particularly frontline services and support for volunteers".
"While the NSW RFS is committed to delivering on its cumulative savings target of $11.7m over four years, this process would not affect frontline and key support service areas, especially in relation to supporting and serving the community," he said.
Volunteer Fire Fighters Association president Peter Cannon said the cuts did not go far enough.
"We are calling for massive reductions in staff levels... there has been much anger generating over the last few years due to the gross fiscal waste and the rapidly increasing staff numbers," he said.
"There are still brigades in far outlying areas that don't have an actual fire station building let alone a fire tanker.
"In 2012 this is nothing short of disgraceful.
"Let me make this clear - volunteers put the fires out, not the salaried staff."
