The Rockliff Liberal Government welcomes the appointment of Mr Matthew Lowe as the new Deputy Chief Officer of the Tasmania Fire Service.
Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management, Felix Ellis, said the role of Deputy Chief Fire Officer brings with it great responsibilities, particularly for overseeing state-wide operations and capability and each of the three response regions.
"Congratulations to Matthew Lowe on this significant recognition of his skills and capability as a leader within the Tasmania Fire Service. Mr Lowe has been with the TFS for more than 20 years and brings great operational skills and expertise, as well as highly developed strategic leadership," Minister Ellis said.
"Following a career in the military, Mr Lowe joined the TFS as a Trainee Firefighter in 2000 and has been acting as the Deputy Regional Chief, South. Supporting his operational experience, Mr Lowe has a number of qualifications in leadership, public safety (fire investigation) and firefighting operational management.
"Mr Lowe has been awarded the Australian Defence Force Medal and the National Emergency Medal, and has received national recognition for his service during the 2019-20 NSW fires. In 2020 Mr Lowe received the NSW Premier's Bushfire Emergency Citation.
"Tasmania has highly capable and talented emergency service responders and the appointment of Mr Lowe to the Deputy Chief role is emblematic of the enormous skillset across the TFS.
"Mr Lowe will work closely with TFS leadership to continue to build Tasmania's preparedness and response to fire and emergency events across the State.
"The Tasmanian Government thanks Mr Shane Batt for his service while he has acted in the role of Deputy Chief Officer," Minister Ellis said.
Mr Lowe will commence in the role from 11 September 2023.
