Random note #193,621
It’s quite apparent that nothing is sacred to the micro-managing, control freak, infestation of Marxists that is the Andrews government of Victoria. Volunteerism sits at the very heart of what makes Australia, Australia. It’s what we do. It’s who we are. The idea of unionising a volunteer organisation is truly mind bending, twisted and bizarre and could only have the effect of totally destroying it. I suspect that is the intention. What’s next? The unionising of motherhood?
To the fascist, intolerant, Brown Shirts of the jackbooted left, who want to recast our values and culture and are out to undermine and destroy this uniquely Australian tradition, volunteerism is just one more institution to be marched through and smashed.
“..Volunteer firefighter Ross Olden risked his life in the Black Saturday bushfires to protect his community but now the Kongwak captain is battling to defend the 60,000 volunteers who make up Victoria’s Country Fire Authority.
In the heat of those devastating 2009 fires, almost 20,000 CFA members fought a fatal combination of nature’s worst elements: fire, wind and soaring temperatures.
Mr Olden was at the wheel of a CFA truck that stood against a wall of flames as the crew did their part to beat back the state’s worst fires in which 173 people perished on February 7.
The bond that formed among those thousands of volunteers, strengthened in the fires, risks being unpicked at the hands of a new and unprecedented threat: the workplace engineering of the Victorian Labor government. A CFA volunteer of 17 years, Mr Olden fears Premier Daniel Andrews’s decision last night to sack the CFA board over the failure to reach agreement on a new enterprise bargaining agreement could erode decades of public trust in the organisation. Volunteer fireys fight to defend a culture of loyalty and sacrifice.
It’s an ignominious outcome for an organisation based on volunteers serving their community, one that has thrived on loyalty, sacrifice and protecting neighbours, family and friends.
“The organisation has got a lot of goodwill with the Victorian public and it would, in my view, probably be seen to be weakening the strength of the organisation,” Mr Olden said. “If a council gets sacked, it means that they have done something wrong, so it’s not a good signal to be sending to the general public.”
What few in the cities understand is the role country firefighters play not only in the protection of rural communities but as part of the lifeblood of regional towns and farming areas.
Mr Olden said he had remained with the force out of a duty to community, and he valued the camaraderie with other members. The father of two boys said an employment agreement between the CFA and the unions should not come at the cost of volunteers and the people they protect and represent.
The CFA has so far refused to sign the agreement, which is supported by the Victorian government, arguing that it advantages paid firefighters at the expense of volunteers.
Interference from Melbourne’s power base on Spring Street would rip the CFA apart, Mr Olden said: “I’ve heard a few volunteers saying they’d walk away and I think that’s really disappointing because I joined to protect my community; until such time as they say I can’t do that, I’ll continue to do it.”
He said the culture within the CFA was special. “Everyone is there to protect their community. It’s a strong culture of volunteering, to help out, to roll up the sleeves and get in and help people out in the worst time. You know that people have got your back, they are looking out for you..”