A city-based Labor Minister has accused locals of “scaremongering” after being asked a reasonable question about the level of firefighting vehicles available in the region.
In State Parliament last week, Environment Minister, Steve Dimopoulos, was asked when the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action’s (DEECA) firefighting G-Wagon vehicles - which have been withdrawn from service - will be back on the road for the upcoming fire season.
Nationals MP for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, said it is understood that all G-Wagon vehicles based at locations such as Orbost have been removed from service due to chassis issues.
“The government has stated they are being replaced by CFA tankers and slip-on units, but these vehicles are already part of the local firefighting fleet. They are not replacements, they were already here in Gippsland,” Mr Bull said.
“The reality is we now have a massive reduction in firefighting vehicles across the region. These things happen, but given we are one of the most fire-prone areas in the world, the community deserves some clear answers.”
Mr Bull said it was disappointing to see the Minister dismiss such an important question with political spin.
“Here is a Minister, who I’m not even sure has ever seen a bushfire, telling us we’re scaremongering when, in fact, it’s a very reasonable and sensible question the community wants answered,” he said.
Mr Bull said this was the same government that had allowed fuel loads to build to dangerously high levels since the last major fires.
“The Bushfire Royal Commission recommended an annual burn target of five per cent to keep us safe. Since the fires, we’ve achieved less than a quarter of that — leaving us vulnerable once again,” he said.
“When the inevitable happens, climate change will no doubt be blamed. I’m not a climate change sceptic, but let’s be honest — the biggest contributor to the next major fire event will be the massive fuel loads on the ground.
“With the fuel levels where they are, there’s simply no other possible result.”

Caption: Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull, is calling on the environment minister to inform communities in our region when firefighting appliances (G-Wagons and Unimogs) will be back online, having been recently taken out of service for repairs. With the entire fleet out of action on the cusp of summer it is incumbent on the Minister to keep the community informed and not avoid and refuse to answer these very simple questions.

Monday, 20 October 2025