Mayors and minister progress Red Fleet issue

The Country Mayors Association of NSW (CMA) has met with NSW Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib to discuss the Red Fleet issue, which refers to local councils currently having ownership of Rural Fire Service (RFS) assets, on paper. Councils do not own RFS plant and infrastructure, however their financials are negatively impacted by the legislative mess. CMA chairman, Temora mayor Rick Firman, together with CMA board member and NSW JO Chairs Network Chairman, Singleton mayor Sue Moore, sat down with Minister Dib to discuss immediate concerns of rural, remote and regional mayors and left seeing the light at the end of a tunnel, according to Cr Firman. The NSW government’s Public Accounts Committee’s ‘Inquiry into the assets, premises and funding of the NSW Rural Fire Service’, in 2025 resulted in a report with 14 recommendations, foremost of which was that the State’s RFS fleet should be legally recognised as NSW government assets. The state government’s official response left the CMA Board and its 89 members underwhelmed, with a comprehensive RFS asset audit not necessarily heralding the end of the issue. “We appreciate that Minister Dib is always generous with his time and plays with a straight bat. We have lobbied for the Red Fleet issue to be resolved for years now,” Cr Firman said. “Our CMA members and board were concerned that the asset audit may have been a stalling tactic that would leave the matter adrift in a bureaucratic never-never. However, in response to our advocacy, Minister Dib has given the CMA assurances that it is to be completed within six months and that councils will not be paying for it. “Minister Dib also agreed that the CMA should be part of his working group to assist in implementing the government response to the inquiry, which we appreciate.” Cr Firman said the CMA board and members are keen to work with all sides of government for the best outcomes for rural, remote and regional mayors, councils and their communities. “We believe that Minister Dib has a genuine desire to right the Red Fleet wrong. It’s crucial that the CMA is involved with and continues to be bought on the journey. Knowing that the NSW government has deadlines and timeframes in mind for this journey has restored our faith in it,” he said. The current Red Fleet situation in NSW came about with the establishment of the Rural Fires Act in 1997, when farmers owned the bulk of the equipment and insisted that if it was to be given over to the RFS then it must remain in local government hands. The arrangement governed by s119 (2) of the Act, requires that any firefighting equipment purchased through the Fire Fighting Fund must vest with the local council. This section of the Act is no longer fit for purpose as it does not reflect the modern approach to firefighting by the RFS in NSW. Further, aside from councils accounting for depreciation, they do not have ownership of RFS assets in most legal or commercial interpretations of the word. Cr Firman said the CMA board and members remain confident that the Red Fleet issue will come to a beneficial conclusion, for both CMA members and the NSW government.