Monash Journalism 12th November 1999

  

 By CHRIS MEYER

 

 

Frankston’s Police and CFA stations are facing chronic staffing shortages. 

The CFA was forced to operate with only one professional officer on duty recently, putting property and lives at risk, a senior firefighter said.

Five Frankston Police senior constables recently walked off duty – the first walk-out by Victorian police in more than 60years - as a protest against shortages.

Lead firefighter John Donovan said last Friday week the station was left without its standard contingent of four paid firefighters after three officers called in sick.

“It’s the first time since I have been at the station that there has been only one officer on duty; things are in a terrible state,” said Mr. Donovan, who has seven years service.

The United Firefighter’s Union recently called for a stop work at the station because of the staffing shortfall and has put bans on overtime.

Union representative Gregg Paterson said that the CFA was trying to replace full time officers with part time and volunteer staff. 

“We have been in dispute since July. Frankston needs four officers to staff its fire units and if they are not available, the station is not operational.” he said.

The dispute, affecting stations across Melbourne, is set to go before the Industrial Relations Commission later this week.

 

Graham Fountain, CFA operations manager for the Western Port region, said the station had not closed for the day, and Frankston had responded to three calls.

 “We have a number of volunteers at Frankston who are qualified to operate our units and they were called on to serve,” Mr. Fountain said.

 “Frankston had one paid officer, a management representative and volunteers at the station on Friday, which is normal CFA practice. We also called on volunteers at surrounding stations to be in a state of readiness.”

Frankston Police have suffered similar shortages, with the staged walk-out being the first by Victorian police for more than 60 years. A senior officer said staffing levels at the station had been an issue for years, but in the past two years had begun to affect morale.

 “Its pretty obvious the way people here feel, and staffing levels have made things very, very difficult,” the officer, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

 Police Association assistant secretary Sen-Sgt Paul Mullett said Frankston station had 11 vacancies that were abolished earlier this year.

Mr. Mullet indicated that the Association would support the officers if any disciplinary action was taken.

 Staffing issues at the Fire station are due to be heard by the Industrial Relations Commission next Monday.

 Frankston Police are still negotiating staff numbers with Victorian Police Association representatives.

 

Critique

 

The issue of Frankston’s emergency services staffing problems was chosen as the topic for my news story because of its currency, proximity to my place of residence, and because of bulk of current media coverage it is amassing from local community newspapers.

 The source information for my article was obtained through various traditional and online sources. The interviews that were a requisite of the piece were conducted through email, and much of the information obtained about current and future development was from Internet sites. These sites included the Frankston council’s website and various Port Phillip Bay and Mornington Peninsula authorities’ websites.

 Traditional sources of media did not go unscathed either in my quest for related information, with the local papers (The Frankston Standard and The Independent) being scoured for any related news stories from which to gain information from.

 When viewing the various available media on the subject, it became apparent that the majority of articles on the topic focused on either the Fire Brigade or the Police’s staffing shortages, however there were no stories that grouped the two aspects of the problem together. The common theme in all of the media was that the emergency services were being neglected State and Federal governments, which could be portrayed more powerfully in an article that combined the facts and details of both current issues.

 As a local resident, I was aware that attitudes in the community, and felt that an article needed to be written that displayed the two problems together, so that people would realize the enormity of the problem, and hopefully lobby to have something done about it.

 This was made possible through the conducting of interviews via email with two people with opposing views on the subject. One of the interviewees was a CFA volunteer, who was disgusted with the treatment the CFA had been receiving from the current government, and the other was a local policeman who had participated in a walk out protest against staff shortages at Frankston Police Station.

 The article is deliberately written in a style most suitable for a local newspaper article. This can be attributed to the fact that the issue is a localized one, and the aim of the article is to develop public support for the lobbying of government to rectify the staffing problems in Frankston/s emergency services.

References

 

·         ‘Melbourne Bays and Peninsulas’ at http://www.melbays.org.au/index.html as accessed on 02/8/99

 ·         Haley, J., (1999) ‘Private email interview –Volunteer CFA worker at [email protected] on 04/09/99

 ·         ‘Nepean Net : About the Mornington Peninsula’ at http://www.mornpen.vic.gov.au/pen.html as accessed on 02/8/99

 ·         Trickey, L., (1999) Foreshore Facelift Push in ‘Frankston Standard’, Monday, August 16, Leader Newspapers, Frankston, p3

 ·         Trickey, L., (1999)Firestation relies on its volunteers, in  ‘Frankston Standard’, Monday, August 16, Leader Newspapers, Frankston, p1

 ·         Colegg, J. (1999) ‘Private email interview – Sen. Const – Frankston Police at  colegg@alphalink.com.au on 06/09/99

 ·         Trickey, L., (1999) Firestation in crisis, in ‘Frankston Standard’ Monday 20th September, Leader Newspapers, Frankston, p2

 ·         Weir, J., (1999) City of the Future, in ‘Frankston Standard’, Monday, August 16, Leader Newspapers, Frankston, p1


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