By Mathew Dearnaley
Apec organisers have been caught off-guard by an apparent security exemption the Fire Service has granted firefighters to move inside controlled areas.
Members of the Professional Firefighters Union have refused to submit to security checks for the summit of world leaders in Auckland next month, and say their employer has backed down on the issue in any case.
But the suggestion that they will be exempt from tight security procedures required of everyone else involved with the summit has surprised the Government's Apec task force.
Most of several central Auckland streets will be closed to general traffic from September 11 for the three days of the conference and pedestrians without accreditation will be kept away from meeting venues and hotels.
Even manhole covers will be sealed.
Apec Taskforce spokesman Peter Parussini said last night that everyone involved with Apec had to be accredited and he had heard of no exemptions.
But he added that the issue was the responsibility of the Fire Service.
Union president Mike McEnaney said firefighters resisted security vetting when they were required to reapply for their jobs last year, and were not about to submit to it now after being vindicated by the Employment Court.
Dismissal notices still hung over the entire paid workforce, and the vetting issue was due to be re-examined by the Court of Appeal in October, in considering a Fire Service challenge to the employment decision.
"We were quite disgusted to be required to be accredited to attend emergencies," he said. "If we are good enough to risk our lives to attend calls now, why should we have to get security clearance to stand alongside [US President] Bill Clinton?"
Mr McEnaney said the service had also decided against increasing the number of fire engines on call to attend Apec venues such as the Auckland Museum and Aotea Centre from the six usually detailed to cover them.
But the union had agreed that a special crew should be reinstated to a chemical firefighting unit during Apec.
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Jack Elder, refused to comment and said any inquiries should be directed to Fire Service management.
Asked about a possible refusal by firefighters to work during millennium celebrations without extra pay, he said the Government had "extensive powers" under civil defence jurisdiction.
But he would not discuss these, saying it would be "very provocative under the current situation."
Mr McEnaney rejected Fire Service suggestions that his members were contractually bound to work, saying they had not had a collective contract for six years but were willing to negotiate a special New Year deal.
The Fire Service national commander, Ken Harper, was reported at the weekend as saying his management had resolved Apec arrangements, but he was unavailable last night to comment on security.
A spokeswoman said he had nothing to add, and US Embassy officials were unavailable to comment on Mr Clinton's security.
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