Minister’s comments support RFSA policy
The RFSA agrees with recent comments made by Emergency Services Minister Troy Grant MP regarding the effective action and response of NSW Rural Fire Service personnel
Minister Grant praised the "well-oiled" response co-ordinated from the Services’ Lidcombe headquarters and said it served to further justify the organisation’s Sydney location. The current metro headquarters allowed the Service to host eight government agencies on Saturday and Sunday, allowing emergency groups to co-locate easily, and to broadcast and communicate more effectively with media. This Sydney based location will be maintained when the headquarters re-locate to Sydney Olympic Park in 2018.
The Minister’s comments reflect the RFSA’s position as outlined in the State Election Policy 2011 entitled "Building a Rural Fire Service for 2030". In this document the RFSA recommended that whilst reasonable efforts should be made to relocate appropriate functions to Regional offices, the NSW RFS Head Office role and responsibilities must be maintained in order to effectively manage and coordinate high level functions of the Service. A Sydney metro location meets this need and should be retained for this purpose.