Minister responisble for the Fire Service Chris Tremain announced a review, saying that over time the Fire Service’s role had increased to include other duties beyond dealing with fires and it was time to ensure that its mandate and funding model reflected that.
Currently, the Fire Service was funded through insurance levies on homes and rural fire authorities are funded by local authority rates, with some funding also from the Defence Force and Department of Conservation.
The Minister said the funding needed to be made more stable, equitable and predictable, and ensure those who actually benefited from the Fire Service were contributing to it.
The Fire Service duties had increased in line with community expectations. Those other duties included attending car and industrial accidents, and natural disasters.
Labour’s spokeswoman Ruth Dyson supported the review. Residential property owners paid a much greater share than the commercial sector, which was unfair.
The type of work fire fighters did was also wider than simply attending house fires – and included traffic accidents and building collapses – and a fair way of funding it was needed.
She said there were a lot of different options, including car insurance or registration, or through council rates. She hoped it was not an excuse for cost savings.
“That would be outrageous. Everybody knows the current Fire Service is not just underfunded, but funded in a way which is not fair or sustainable.”
The terms of reference for the review state that the panel should consider who the Fire Service’s current and future “clients” are and what its staffing and financial needs were likely to be.
Get involved
