Malcolm Turnbull must be thanking his lucky stars for Daniel Andrew's obsequious slavishness to the unions. DA's tyrannical edict to unionise the CFA has created outrage and massive backlash. DA has refused to budge, and Shorten has kept silent.

This plays directly to the coalition's assertion that Labor is beholden to the unions and favours them over all else, and MT has donned the mantel of their protector against a greedy and rapacious union and Labor boss.

"The Country Fire Authority board has upped the ante in the dispute over further unionising the organisation through the United Firefighters’ Union’s log of claims. The board met today and announced in an explosive statement that it had rejected the proposed enterprise bargaining agreement with the UFU, saying it had clauses that were “unlawful” and “have no place in modern day workplaces and are out of step with today’s society”.

The move heightens the pressure on the Andrews government, which is discussing the issue in a Cabinet meeting today that may end Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett’s ministerial career. While a circuit-breaker is definitely needed for the government, there is no sign that Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is willing to compromise yet.

The CFA announced its rejection in the statement saying “the Board is not able to approve the EBA in its current form”.

Hi Shadow,
Looks like this one burnt itself out, despite your best efforts to pour petrol on the fire!

Paul,

I suppose it was such a blindingly stupid move by Labor that there was no argument.

This thread should be titled

"How to lose the next election"

"Daniel Andrews has erred badly by throwing the wrong people under a bus in the bitter Country Fire Authority dispute.

In keeping faith with the desires of the ultra-militant United Firefighters Union, it is CFA volunteers, his minister and now the CFA board and potentially the management, that have become collateral damage.

Andrews’s blitzkrieg approach yesterday — in which he got rid of both his dissident Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett and the CFA board — may have been smart in terms of advancing his aim to wrest back control of the situation and put the agreement to bed.

But it has done nothing to assuage doubts about his judgment or increase the small but growing ranks of internal enemies in the ALP caucus.

Party figures monitoring community sentiment say these doubts are restricted to the commentariat and their man is actually flying high in internal polling, on the back of keeping his election promises in transport infrastructure and overseeing a resilient economy.

But surely the disunity and dysfunction seen this week, and the ruthless use of executive power by the Premier to push a deal that primarily advances the interests of the union, will take some gloss off Mr Andrews in a way that not even the ALP party machine’s soft-focus, pastel-coloured campaign ads can repair.

The next move for the government will be to select a board prepared to endorse the proposed agreement which, under the circumstances, amounts to finding patsies prepared to surrender their decision-making capacity to the whim of the cabinet.

Garrett, meanwhile, will retreat to the backbench to find succour with fellow critics of the Premier’s approach such as Adem Somyurek, who still fumes over Andrews’ s decision to dump him over disputed bullying claims that he says were factionally motivated."

This thread should be titled

"How to lose the next election"

Shadow are you trying to pass on a warning to Malcolm.

Paul,

Previously I was worried that MT's intelligent and reasoned approach was losing ground to Shorten's bullcrap baffles brains lines. However, with Shorten's economic policy unravelling, Labor and Greens MPs ripping off employees, forgetting to declare properties and negative gearing them, and now Daniel Andrews bullying and now firing volunteer fire fighters (one step short of raping mother Theresa) Turnbull almost doesn't even have to try.

You talk more crap than Abbott ever did. Andrews did the right thing sacking the board. They were going against recommendations from FWA.

His former minister did not want the FWA directives either.

Your biggest worry should be Abbott lurking in the background. Turnbull has turned out to be a mothers boy not game enough to make any decisions.

Bill is all that is needed, elections are lost not won.

Sheer thuggery by the UFU and by the labor government.

579, The board of the CFA are long time service volunteer members who strangely enough hold the values of the volunteers above the safety of their jobs.

"One volunteer firefighter had his tyres slashed after speaking publicly against the deal.

The union chief given un­precedented power over Vic­toria’s volunteer firefighters has pushed to make it harder for volunteers who get cancer associ­ated with firefighting to access ­compensation.

United Firefighters Union boss Peter Marshall has also taken a stand against efforts to increase the number of female firefighters in Melbourne’s paid metropolitan brigade.

Mr Marshall is a close ally of Victorian Premier Daniel ­Andrews, who last week saw off Jane Garrett, who resigned as emergency services minister after she backed volunteers over the UFU, and sacked the board of the Country Fire Authority.

Volunteer brigades have told The Australian of a culture of outright hostility from the union, a situation that flared in ­recent weeks as the Victorian Labor government attempts to ram through an enterprise bargaining agreement with the CFA, which has 60,000 volunteers."

The MFB wants more area to cover That is what the 7 paid firefighters are about. As is now the CFA covers much of the greater Melbourne area Except a donut area within Melbourne.
It is a dispute over territory, Melbourne boundaries have shifted greatly and the MFB feels it is being squeezed into non existence as to territory.
Former country towns are now suburbs of Melbourne, which are CFA territory.
This dispute does not belong with the CFA there will be no change. Misinformation is coming from the Herald sun newspaper.
A directive came from FWA to implement their ruling. Which said 7 paid firefighters will attend any fires within a stipulated area within greater Melbourne area. Which is currently serviced by the CFA.
The only part the union had was the initial recommendations as to territory which the FWA has endorsed.
The CFA are not part of that union, and should not be part of discussion. The CFA are not going to be replaced with paid firefighters. The MFB wants supervision rights over fires within the greater Melbourne stipulated area, which is controlled by CFA.
The real story and what is in papers are two different stories. {It’s election time }

579,

What we have is a Labor premiere riding roughshod over the volunteer firefighters and trying to force them to sign an EBA that is clearly not in their interest, and probably illegal as well.

Why else is Shorten on his knees begging volunteers not to quit? Simply because there is likely a massive backlash against Labor in Victorian marginal seats that Labor needs to win.

"But there’s little doubt the issue will make the volatile Liberal-held seat of Corangamite more difficult for Labor to win and could impact on the marginal Liberal seats of Dunkley and La Trobe and marginal Labor seats of McEwen and Bendigo"

The dispute has nothing to do with votes, that is wishful thinking. Volunteers were misled by newspaper crap and so are you. How can you be a volunteer and be subject to EBA they do not get paid.
It is a case of when the boss is away the mice will play.
You don’t give any mention to the FWA. Is that tactical to keep the rumor going.

579

Wrong,

The volunteers do get some pay. Not much but a little with some insurance benefits. Why do you think DA was trying to force the CFA to sign the EBA?

Of course this will influence voters especially out of the cities where the CFA are the first responders to fires.

The board were required to sign the decision from FWA.
We are talking about Volunteers from the outer Melbourne suburbs, that FWA want 7 paid firefighters to attend.
The CFA which are involved are very localized. Other supporters have been misled by rumors from newspapers who seen a chance of disruption to be had.

579,

No they weren't compelled to sign the EBA, which is why they didn't sign it, and why they got an injunction based on its illegality.

This was a union grab for power and money enforced by the union lackey Daniel Andrews.

Shadow, how does this compare to the Baird government's trashing of democracy in New South Wales by sacking 42 democratically elected local councils. All this despite overwhelming community anger at forced amalgamations. There could be a lesson in this for Malcolm come July 2nd.
What's your spin on Baird's jackboot politics.

Paul,

Living in one of the local councils that is to be amalgamated I can see no sign of the "overwhelming community anger" that you talk about, in fact the prospect of fewer more efficient, democratically elected councils is welcomed by all except that handful of political hopefuls that want to launch a political career through councils and feel that the positions and fiefdoms they feel entitled to are disappearing.

Shadow, just because the local populous have not taken to the streets does not mean Baird has universal approval for his actions. I could ask the same of you. Have the people of Victoria taken to the streets in mass support of volunteer fire fighters? Are some within the hierarchy of the CFA Volunteers wishing to maintain their positions of authority, and their cozy fiefdoms.
Although predominantly state issues, for both Liberal and Labor in their respective states there could could be some backlash from voter over both issues on July 2nd.

Paul,

Given the widely publicised corruption and infighting in these councils often at ratepayers' expense I sense very little sympathy for maintaining these bureaucratic fat cats in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed. So I see this federally and state wise as largely an electoral non event. The exception being the inner suburbs where the greens are at risk of losing their domination, but they were never going to vote liberal anyway.

As for the CFA, I sense a visceral anger at Andrew's blatant bullying, and if as I believe the CFA volunteers start campaigning against Labor in marginal seats it could make enough difference to matter.

SM your reliance of information from newspapers lets you down every time. Danial Andrews did the right thing by sacking the CFA board and the rest was all B/S.
Driven by the Liberal party to discredit DA while he was away. Nothing to do with the CFA.

Shadow, you may not be aware of the fact, but up to 20% of Green preferences flow to the Liberals. Our policy on the issue, and has been from the beginning, 'No forced amalgamations'
In MT's seat of Wentworth, there is a strong preference from Liberal voters for the Greens. In the seat of Melbourne last election between 20% and 55% of Liberal voters gave their preference to the Greens Adam Bandt over Labor, realistically it was around 30%.

579,

Your reliance on the voices in your head lets you down.

Dismissing the CFA board which is elected by the volunteer firemen from long serving volunteers is an act of bastardry to force them to betray the interests of the volunteers.

DA will feel the consequences when he has to face the highly respected firemen volunteers campaigning against labor federally and possible in the next state elections.

Paul,

In most cases the tiny No of preferences that would change is hardly noticeable.

The board was not operating in the interests of the volunteers. Rumors spread through newspapers are to blame for frustration build up. Volunteers are just that, how anybody can think their position can be changed has rocks in their head.

579,

Have you got anything that shows that the volunteer firemen elected to the CFA board were not acting in the interests of the volunteer firemen, because it appears that the volunteer firemen do. If they are convinced, your opinion carries no credibility.

With what the newspaper stories were telling them is what they believed to be true.
The fact is what was in the paper was fraudulent. A concoction of liberal fiddling and false innuendo.
Unions wanting to take over a voluntary service is absolute crap.
The FWA decision was all to do with the already integrated paid firefighters in the volunteer ranks.
The potency of this is vile, and has all the hallmarks of liberal treachery, while Andrews was away.

579,

You have no credibility. The EBA gives the union veto powers over the CFA management, powers over the training and even recruitment of volunteers, gives a professional with little to no experience seniority over a volunteer with 30 yrs experience. Then to top it all insists on at least 7 union members being called to a fire, which blatantly wants the replacement of volunteers with paid firemen.

Tell me that this is not true, otherwise the papers were right.

Here's the twat Daniel Andrews being ambushed by 200 CFA volunteers.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/furious-cfa-members-ambush-premier-daniel-andrews-in-ararat/news-story/f783bd4888af8fc2d9d5bca7d0b6c46f?utm_content=SocialFlow&utm_campaign=EditorialSF&utm_source=HeraldSun&utm_medium=Twitter