Originally Posted by
junior.VH-LFA
It’s also really a pointless discussion to have, the positions are filled by the contractor. There aren’t any vacant seats available.
I think the whole point of AFAP’s position (which is in common with what many emergency services groups are saying) is in the long term last summer will become the norm not an exception. Fire seasons are overlapping with the northern hemisphere so we can’t rely on them to provide the bulk of the larger aircraft. It’s time to combine Australia’s firefighting and aviation expertise to create our own national aerial firefighting service, and not rely on northern hemisphere contractors. Jobs for Aussies and all that. Australian registered aircraft, Australian pilots, we control them.
Now the currently stood down pilots may be able to be used in later seasons if they choose so, but more firefighting pilots definitely be needed in the future. Don’t think for one second that last summer was an anomaly. It’s a threat this country is going to face for the majority of future years, we have a lot of money and resources spent on services to drop real bombs on threats that have very rarely been employed over time, whereas bushfires will threaten this country every 5/6 months for most years into the future, yet we seem to want to a bare minimum effort with overseas contractors. Doesn’t make sense?