Episode Details

Now for some time, I'd say this would be over a number of years, I've been receiving texts from firefighters who are extremely unhappy with the way their organisation is being run. It hasn't just been over this latest pay dispute and the strikes. This has been ongoing for a couple of years now. 

There haven't been outright accusations per se, but a deep-seated uneasiness, and in some cases anger, about the way FENZ is running the organisation and the way they're treating firefighters. Now a scathing report has confirmed what they have been saying. The board is under fire and under threat of removal, and questions are being asked as to whether FENZ is capable of buying its own fire trucks, sourcing its own materials. Brooke van Velden, the Minister for Fire and Emergency, says she has absolutely no confidence in the chief executive Kerry Gregory, nor indeed of the board. 

National MP Tim Costley, who's the deputy chair of the Governance and Administration Committee, said the report into FENZ lays bare years of failings. For example, FENZ bought 30 new fire trucks in 2019. Well, that's good, isn't it? That's what the firefighters have been striking for. Well, yes, they're still not being used. They're almost obsolete before they've put a tyre on the road. Costley says the evidence shows FENZ has not been able to deliver. They've consistently had delays, they've consistently had issues with the trucks, and it looks like they have a culture of changing the design halfway through the process regularly, which would be a bit tricky for the manufacturers. 

Ladder trucks that FENZ bought have also suffered significant delays. Despite a final inspection in July 2025, they're still sitting with the original manufacturers, not yet delivered to FENZ and far from being put into operational use, which puts the firefighters at risk. They don't have the equipment they need to do the job. How the hell can you have 30 new trucks that were bought seven years ago that are still not being used? 

The pay disputes are ongoing. Every time I go past my Birkenhead fire station between just after midday when I finish work and there they are, standing on the side of the road, placards and horns tooting. Yesterday Brooke van Velden said she had no confidence in the CEO of FENZ or its board, specifically because of a serious breach of the no surprises clause as she told Mike Hosking this morning. 

BvV: There's always been issues with Fire and Emergency. We've always known that. Lots of historic issues, payroll, the fleet procurement, asset management. But at least when I've known about it, I've been able to actively hold them accountable to their plans and processes and we have actually seen some progress. This was active withholding of information and I think it reeks of people thinking they're above the law. 

MH: Indeed, what is it about FENZ because as you say it's been going on for years in various different guises. What is it about FENZ in and of itself that's so uniquely hopeless? 

BvV: Well, I've asked my officials specifically that question, which is is it because it is a Crown entity so at arm's length from government ministers that they are essentially a law unto themselves. And so I've asked for some immediate advice on whether or not there does need to be a better change to the law to allow for better accountability. Is it the fact that it is a Crown entity that is leading to these widespread cultural issues at play? 

Why are they not under the purview of the Crown? Make them like the Police, have a Fire Commissioner. Ensure that their funding is steady and reliable and within the budget, not dependent on people paying insurance levies. Because at the moment that's how a significant amount of their operational budget is raised: