UPDATE
The Country Fire Authority has been accused of “withholding crucial” information about its Fiskville training site despite repeated efforts by the committee investigating the scandal to obtain documents.
This morning, the state parliament’s Environment, Natural Resources and Regional Development committee tabled a special report outlining their concerns about CFA’s cooperation.
Since issuing several summons notices in two months, the committee has been handed only 13.5 per cent of the CFA board meeting minutes since the 1970s, chairwoman Bronwyn Halfpenny said.
“The committee has made extensive efforts to undertake this inquiry in a cooperative manner and to be reasonable in its requests for documents that can help us find out what has occurred at Fiskville,” Ms Halfpenny said.
“These documents and information [minutes of meetings] go to the very heart of the terms of reference the committee is required by parliament to investigate.”
In December last year, the state government announced an inquiry into the Fiskville training site following findings firefighters were repeatedly exposed to dangerous chemicals.
Forced to raise concerns
Ms Halfpenny paid tribute to the role of the CFA but said the committee was “forced” to table this morning’s special report.
“Our concerns about not accessing the requested CFA board papers are significant enough to warrant this special report to the Victorian parliament,” she said.
“We want to undertake a thorough and transparent inquiry, and to complete this inquiry in a timely way, we need access to this information.”
In the report tabled at parliament this morning, a number of issues have been raised about the documents handed – and not handed – over by the CFA’s representative, the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office (VGSO).
The committee expressed concerns about the slow and ad hoc production of documents, duplication of documents, filtering the information to be produced, claims that existing documents no longer exist, and the extensive redaction of material.
Firefighters were exposed to dangerous chemicals while training at Fiskville. Picture: Michael Copp
When asked by the committee for meeting papers, the VGSO stated in a letter dated September 11 that “searching to date indicates that meeting papers prior to 1996 no longer exist”.
Subsequently, the committee asked for an explanation as to why the papers no longer existed, and was told by the VGSO that after a thorough search the CFA “have now located an archived cache of material”.
“The committee is concerned by the claim that board papers prior to 1996 no longer exist,” the report states. “It is a claim that may not have been retracted had the committee not requested further explanation.”
When tabling its interim report at parliament in June, the committee noted access to information from the CFA was a problem.
“Decision makers within the CFA have done a disservice to the CFA legacy and CFA firefighters twice over,” Ms Halfpenny said.
“First the tragedy of Fiskville itself and now the refusal to provide vital information to this inquiry.”
The committee is expected to table its final report on March 31 next year.
The CFA has been contacted for comment.
