Working together to secure our Fire and Emergency Services for more frequent and severe disasters

Tasmania is one of the most bushfire and flood prone areas in the world and we are seeing more frequent floods, fires and storms.

Tasmania also has one of the most rurally dispersed and fastest growing populations in the country, who need to be prepared for and kept safe during these events.

Despite the growing demand, we have not had meaningful reform for our fire and emergency services since 1979 when we merged our urban and rural brigades together after the devastating 1967 bushfires.

As a result, we have hundreds of emergency facilities that require upgrades, maintenance and modernisation, and thousands of personnel, many of whom are volunteers, who require training, uniforms, equipment and wellbeing support.

But that expense is nothing compared to picking up the pieces after extreme weather events.

The dollar cost for the devastating Dunalley bushfires alone is estimated to be $89 million, more than the entire Budget for the Tasmania Fire Service that year.

The immeasurable cost of shattered lives, homes and businesses was far greater.

We must continue community preparedness and communication activities and programs to ensure all Tasmanians are ready and safe during emergencies.

Multiple independent reviews over recent years have recommended critical reform for our emergency services because our current governance and financial arrangements have not stood the test of time.

The responsibility for resourcing and funding the volunteer SES units sits with Councils under the Emergency Management Act 2006, however this has not been occurring consistently with some council areas providing more support than others.

Our Government is acting on these recommendations to secure our fire and emergency services for the future. 

That is why we are consulting on a Bill that delivers on our commitment to bring the Tasmania Fire Service and State Emergency Service together to become the Tasmania Fire and Emergency Service (TFES) under the command of a new Commissioner for Fire and Emergency Service.

We have also committed to provide that Commissioner with a fair, sustainable and ringfenced funding model that supports the TFES in the face of increasing emergencies.

The current 1979 financial model is highly complex and applied unfairly across our communities.

There are currently three levies charged to Tasmanians at over 29 different rates. Some people in Tasmania pay more than 10 times what others pay. But our emergency services don’t stop at our council boundaries or check to see who pays insurance before they provide their emergency services. They turn up every time we need them.

For the first time, we will provide financial security to the SES and remove this burden from councils. That way we can make sure all SES units across Tasmania receive consistent support.

We plan to abolish an entire levy applied to Tasmanian businesses, and reform our property levy so that across Tasmania households and businesses pay 1 or 2 rates instead of over 29.

It means that businesses cannot avoid paying our fire and emergency services levies by not taking out insurance.

In doing so we will equalise the model so all Tasmanians pay the same rate (or, one of only two rates) for the same type of property.

We are conscious of our regions and in one model we propose that rural areas pay half as much as urban areas. We are also proposing increasing concession rates from 20 per cent to 30 per cent in support of these Tasmanians.

It is important to remember that no matter where an emergency event happens in our State, our crews and resources will be there to help.

As part of our reforms, our Government is committing to doubling our investment in

our nation-leading Fuel Reduction Program and establishing a minimum standard for our volunteer facilities so that no matter where you volunteer in the state, each facility has the same features and amenities.

Our emergency services stand together when any corner of our state is under attack. We should do the same for them.

We know that finalising the TFES reforms will take time, consultation and consideration which is why we are convening a Roundtable forum with business, industry, community leaders and unions to focus on potential solutions and find common ground.

We will continue to listen to and consider feedback received because we want the model to be fair to households, fair to businesses, fair to our regions, and more importantly – fair to our emergency services so they can save lives.

Consultation is open to 1 December 2023.