As Victoria braces for more dangerous weather including the prospect of bushfires, the Allan Government has failed to deliver on a key pledge to upgrade CFA heavy tankers to assist firefighting efforts.
In June 2020, the Labor Government committed to deliver a new fleet of 48 heavy tankers to replace aging single-cab tankers by late-2023.
These heavy tankers were described as “state-of the-art firefighting vehicles”, outfitted with modern equipment including electronic monitors and electric rewind hose reels and would allow a full crew to sit within the cabin.
Despite its promise and warnings of a dangerous bushfire season, theAllan Government has admitted it has delivered only 20 of the 48 tankers to the CFA, with the rollout of the remaining 28 tankers not expected to be completed until later this year.
Leader of the Opposition, John Pesutto, said: “Once again the Allan Government has failed to deliver on its promises and this has left many communities across Victoria vulnerable.
“Last week we saw storms and blackouts impact hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across the state and fires tear through communities like Pomonal with devastating consequences.
“Labor ignored warnings that our energy network was vulnerable to such events and now it has broken a promise to ensure local communities are properly resourced to deal with the threat of bushfires.”
Shadow Minister for Emergency Services, Richard Riordan, said: “Labor’s broken promise affects communities right across the state including areas that were hard-hit by last week’s extreme weather.
“There is no excuse to be so ill-prepared and once again Victorians are paying the price for Labor’s mismanagement of our emergency services.”
