Mr GREG PIPER (Lake Macquarie) (19:28): I contribute to debate on the Rural Fires Amendment (Fire Fighting Fleet) Bill 2026. It is good to follow on from the member or Blue Mountains. Her community is well served and defended by the volunteers in that area. The member for Blue Mountains and I go back quite some time as friends. It was wonderful to join with her and the member for Cootamundra to visit our colleagues across the Pacific in California, particularly around the greater Los Angeles area, when they were going through extraordinary wildfires. The member for Blue Mountains engaged with like people in California, and they understood their commonality. There are differences, but there is also great commonality. As the member for Blue Mountains said, her area is one of the most volatile and highly fire‑affected regions in the world. I acknowledge her contribution.
As a personal aside, I recognise former member for Blue Mountains Phil Koperberg. I knew Phil in a number of ways but, certainly, as a member of this place from 2007 to 2011. I reference the bushfire brigade. If members were around, they would not forget the old bushfire brigade. It was a resourceful group of well-intended people who cobbled together what they could. Often they built their own equipment, water wagons and pumps. It was extraordinary. My father-in-law and mother-in-law were founding members of the Mannering Park bushfire brigade, which would have been in the late '60s. They served the local community and also supported the important infrastructure of the day, Vales Point Power Station. Those people did amazing work right across our communities. They did not have the resources that the RFS has today. I recognise that.
Once you get involved, there is the problem of having a heart and a conscience. Once you step into it and see a need, it is hard to get out because there is always more to do. That is how it was with the bushfire brigade and now the Rural Fire Service. My family is still throughout the Rural Fire Service, including my nephews on my wife's side. I am a member but I am a lousy one, I have to say. I wish I had more time. Once I became the Speaker, I had to step aside. I do not have the time to give to it. But they are a great bunch of people.
As a former mayor of Lake Macquarie City Council, I know about the relationship between the council and the Rural Fire Service to maintain the equipment. This has been a bone of contention across the community for a long time. It is pleasing that the Government is now listening to people who have been saying for years that this must be separated and that it is an unfair burden. As mentioned by the Minister, this short and seemingly simple bill is the most significant change to the Rural Fire Service in the past three decades. Some 30 years ago the State's firefighting and support vehicles, known as the red fleet, were vested in councils. Since that time, the role of councils in fighting and mitigating bushfires has become less active. Despite that, the law continues to require that councils record red fleet assets on their books and absorb depreciation expenses, even though they have no control over how those assets are acquired, used or disposed of, and may not even know their location.
In 2025 the Public Accounts Committee published its report entitled Assets, premises and funding of the NSW Rural Fire Service. The report's judicious recommendations and findings in relation to the red fleet led to the bill. Addressing recommendations 1 and 3 of the committee's report, the bill would vest red fleet assets in the Rural Fire Service to reflect the operational reality that the RFS is the entity that makes decisions about those assets. The consolidation will also allow the RFS to have full visibility of the red fleet, make more efficient strategic decisions and deliver consistent standards across the fleet, which should positively impact frontline worker and community safety. The RFS has greater capacity to manage the financial and accounting impost currently borne by councils. Councils have varying capabilities to manage those assets and they face chronic financial strain. They are, therefore, generally not best positioned to own and manage red fleet assets. As President of Local Government NSW Mayor Darcy Byrne has said, this reform will particularly help those smaller rural and regional councils with a proportionally larger RFS presence.
We are once again the midst of bushfire season, and parts of the State are at heightened risk due to warmer and drier conditions. I truly welcome this reform, which I believe will allow the State to deliver a more robust and effective firefighting response for our communities. As other members have said, I commend the RFS and the volunteers, who do such great work. I acknowledge the Minister. The RFS has a fantastic Minister acting for it. I acknowledge members of the House who also serve in the RFS with distinction, like the member for Prospect. I know there are others. The member for Myall Lakes is embarking on her path, and other members serve as well. I thank them for their service.