Five extra firefighters will be employed in Bundaberg by the end of this year as part of a State Government pledge to recruit 100 firefighters across Queensland.
The Government has increased public sector numbers overall by nearly 10 per cent in three years.
Fire and Emergency Services Minister Craig Crawford said the Government was honouring a commitment made in the lead-up to the 2017 election.
“We are now well on the way to delivering,” Mr Crawford said.
“These 25 will join the 25 full-time firefighters who were last year allocated to Townsville, the Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Maryborough, Bundaberg, Charters Towers and Cairns.
“These men and women are part of this Government’s $29 million commitment to new firefighters and are part of the more than 192,000 jobs that have been created since Annastacia Palaszczuk became Premier.
“Of the remaining 50 new firefighters, we have 25 planned for delivery in 2020 and the final 25 in 2021.”
On the May Day holiday, Mr Crawford also paid homage to the United Firefighters Union Queensland.
“Today we mark the hard-fought right to fair working conditions, including the eight-hour day,” he said.
“It is also the day when we celebrate the union movement – those men and women who represent our colleagues on issues ranging from fair pay to discrimination.
“The UFU are the people who, when everyone else is running out of a burning building, they are running into it.
“They are well aware of the danger but have the skills and the knowledge to manage the risk.
“The UFU represents some of the bravest people I know – the men and women on the frontline when disaster strikes.”
At December 2018 there were 225,478 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees in the Queensland public sector compared with 205,529 in December 2015, an increase of 19,949 (9.7%).
- For information about working as a QFES firefighter, visit here.
