Gisborne firefighters continue to petition for inquiry into Fire and Emergency NZ funding, staffing

Striking firefighters in Gisborne on Friday. Photo /Leonie Sheehan

Members of the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union gathered in Gisborne’s city centre today as part of nationwide strike action and to support their “Dire Emergency” campaign, urging locals to sign a petition.

The petition calls for an independent inquiry into Fire and Emergency New Zealand, claiming it has “failed to manage funding to ensure that it has the capacity and capability for reliable emergency response to the New Zealand public”.

It says frontline services are not being improved, with ongoing issues including broken fire engines, limited training, understaffed call centres and wasted spending with no accountability.

The petition had received over 25,500 of its goal of 50,000 signatures as of Friday afternoon.

Tairāwhiti firefighters gathered on all four sides of the intersection of Gladstone Rd and Grey St from noon to 1pm, holding placards and asking motorists to toot their support.

The union’s secretary for Gisborne, Carl Shaw, said they felt support from the local community and appreciated the toots and people signing the petition.

“We’d just like the energy to continue all the way to our bosses and to the Government, who have a lot to say and are sitting on their hands at the moment.”