The United Firefighters Union of Australia - Aviation Branch (UFUAV) has condemned as bizarre and dangerous a proposal by Airservices Australia to effectively privatise the nation's Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting Service by selling critical emergency service infrastructure to a sovereign wealth fund.
The proposal would see aviation fire stations, specialised firefighting vehicles, training facilities and protective equipment transferred to a third-party commercial entity and leased back to Airservices under a long-term arrangement.
UFUAV Branch Secretary Wes Garrett said the plan amounts to the commercialisation of a frontline emergency service that exists to maintain public safety and save the lives of air travellers when disaster strikes.
"Aviation firefighting is not a money-making enterprise. It is a lifesaving emergency service. The moment you introduce a profit motive, safety stops being the first priority.
"Australians expect world-class aviation rescue firefighters to come to their aid when something goes wrong, not an emergency service run according to a lowest bidder mentality designed to maximise returns for an investment fund.
"Under the proposal, ownership and management of critical aviation safety assets would be transferred to a commercial operator whose primary obligation would be delivering a financial return to investors, not protecting the safety of air travellers or firefighters."
"We have seen this exercise attempted in other jurisdictions before. When profit becomes a central driver of decision-making, there is always inevitable pressure to cut costs.
"That will mean delaying maintenance on our specialised firefighting vehicles, reducing investment in equipment and facilities or underinvesting in operational readiness.
Mr Garrett said that especially in aviation firefighting, those risks carry catastrophic consequences.
"In an aircraft fire, passengers typically have only minutes to survive. International aviation standards require firefighters to reach an incident within three minutes because every second counts.
"If operational preparedness is compromised by cost-cutting or delayed maintenance, the consequences could be fatal for passengers and devastating for firefighters who are sent into those situations."
The Union also warned that separating maintenance capability from operational firefighting functions would further undermine safety.
The proposal would transfer specialised emergency vehicle technicians and maintenance capability to the private asset owner, fragmenting a system that currently operates as a fully integrated emergency response capability.
"Aviation firefighting works because the crews, vehicles, technicians and infrastructure operate as one integrated system. Breaking that system apart introduces risk where none currently exists.
"Emergency services demand absolute clarity of responsibility. When a commercial entity controls equipment and infrastructure, you introduce competing priorities between investor returns and public safety."
The Union said the proposal would also lock the Commonwealth into decades of escalating costs through long-term lease arrangements designed to deliver profits to investors.
"Privatisation schemes like this rarely save money. They shift public assets into private hands while taxpayers pay more over the long term."
Mr Garrett said the proposal also raises fundamental questions about the future of emergency services in Australia.
"If aviation firefighting can be privatised, what emergency service is next?"
"The travelling public deserves a world-class aviation rescue firefighting service that puts safety first every single time. They do not deserve a system where critical emergency infrastructure is run to maximise financial returns."
The UFUAV said it will strongly oppose any attempt to privatise aviation rescue firefighting services and will undertake all measures necessary to ensure the service remains in public hands.
"Firefighters will never accept a future where lifesaving services are hollowed out to satisfy financial models.
"When safety fails, it is the travelling public and our firefighters who pay the price.
"We call on Airservices Australia to put the lives of Australia's air travellers first by abandoning the proposal to privatise the aviation firefighting services they rely upon to keep them safe."
