Outgoing Nationals’ Member for Shepparton District, Kim O’Keeffe, has condemned the Victorian Labor Government after a new parliamentary inquiry report has confirmed the government’s mismanagement of the CFA and its ability to protect rural and regional communities.
“The Legislative Council’s Environment and Planning Committee’s inquiry into the 2026 summer fires has confirmed what Victorians already know and that’s the government lack of ability to properly manage our CFA brigades and its hardworking volunteers,” said Ms O’Keeffe.
Among the Committee’s findings in its final report included:
The number of CFA operational volunteers had fallen by 26 per cent over the past decade.
802 single cab tankers remained in the CFA fleet and would not be fully replaced until 2036, while South Australia has already phased its single cabs out.
Around 650 CFA tankers still carried firefighters in exposed rear seating.
Roadside vegetation management was inconsistent, poorly funded and without clear accountability, leaving fuel loads that hampered evacuation and firefighting.
