Chronic underfunding of the Country Fire Authority (CFA) was laid bare at a Parliamentary Inquiry on Friday 24 April, with recent government funding announcements falling well short of reversing the damage. CFA Chief Executive, Greg Leach, confirmed the organisation was not meeting fleet renewal benchmarks, including the turning over of tankers at 20 years of age and pumpers at 15. He acknowledged that a $65 million per year investment would be needed just to maintain the current age of the CFA fleet – a far cry from Labor’s recent $10 million per year promise for the next ten years. He also revealed there are 802 single-cab tankers in the CFA fleet. This contradicts earlier Department of Justice and Community Safety evidence that put the figure at 627 during Public Accounts and Estimates Committee hearings six months ago. CFA Chief Officer, Jason Heffernan, admitted to the inquiry that CFA staff shortages led to “some deficiencies” in affected districts. He confirmed he had formally raised concerns with the Emergency Management Commissioner ahead of the fire season, and issued a “qualified attestation” about the CFA’s readiness ahead of summer due to the staff shortages. This attestation has not been made public. He also confirmed unfilled vacancies existed in District 22 at the time of the Longwood fire in January, but could not say how many. Fire Services Implementation Monitor, Niall Blair, warned the inquiry the vacancies were “leaving vulnerabilities across the state”. Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Minister for Emergency Services, Danny O’Brien, said Labor continued to under-resource the CFA and leave regional Victoria vulnerable. “We knew the CFA was under-resourced going into the fire season and not getting enough support to upgrade fire trucks.” The Nationals Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland MP, used the inquiry open mic session in Alexandra to deliver a strong account of what she described as “systemic failure” in both the response to and recovery from the Longwood bushfire. Speaking on behalf of communities across Longwood, Upton Hill, Ruffy, Creighton’s Creek and Gooram, Ms Cleeland also shared her family’s direct experience, with her own property and those of her parents and sister destroyed in the fire. “What we lived through was not just a bushfire,” Ms Cleeland said. “It was a failure of leadership, systems and recovery.” Ms Cleeland outlined serious concerns about fireground coordination, including breakdowns in communication, unclear radio channels, and changing plans that were not relayed to volunteers on the ground. She said volunteers were left operating without clear direction or senior command at critical points in the fire. “There was a catastrophic breakdown in communication and command continuity,” she said. Ms Cleeland also raised concerns about leadership arrangements during the fire, stating that the Acting Chief Fire Officer left the fireground at a critical time, leaving volunteers to manage escalating conditions. “The fact that more people did not die is nothing short of a miracle,” she said, pointing to vehicles trapped on the Hume Freeway, including a fuel tanker surrounded by fire. She said exhausted volunteers were pushed beyond safe limits, while many who lost homes and livelihoods were also excluded from basic emergency relief support. “We have built a system that punishes people for doing the right thing,” she said. Ms Cleeland also criticised broader emergency management structures, arguing that centralised decision-making has reduced operational clarity and weakened accountability on the fireground. She said repeated recommendations from past inquiries, particularly around fuel reduction, had not been properly implemented. Turning to recovery, Ms Cleeland described the current approach as inequitable and slow, with ongoing delays to clean-up, rebuilding and housing support. “Nearly four months on, parts of our region still look like a warzone. “That is not recovery,” she said. She called for a universal clean-up program, faster rebuilding approvals, improved housing options, and three years of rate exemptions rather than deferrals, warning families face long-term financial strain under current arrangements. Ms Cleeland also highlighted the strength of community-led recovery efforts, saying local farmers, volunteers and organisations delivered faster and more effective support than government systems. “Our communities stepped up when the system failed,” she said. She noted that neither the Premier nor Prime Minister had visited the region despite the scale of impact. “This inquiry has the chance to fix the system and ensure communities are never left behind again,” Ms Cleeland said.
