Victoria's country fire chief resigns

Victoria's chief fire officer Russell Rees insists it was his decision to quit and
he was not forced out by the torrent of criticism of his leadership on Black
Saturday.
Three months before the Bushfires Royal Commission delivers its findings into last
year's fires, which killed 173 people, Mr Rees announced he was quitting with 18
months left on his two-year contract.
The royal commission has delivered damning criticism of Mr Rees, declaring in its
interim report last August that he failed to protect Victorians on Black Saturday
and was divorced from fundamental aspects of his responsibilities.
Mr Rees has denied his resignation on Friday was influenced by the royal commission.
"It's very important to understand that timing of this change of me leaving CFA is
vital both for the organisation and the future of Victoria and its communities," Mr
Rees told reporters on Friday.
"I am making the decision to go now so that the future of CFA is assured.
"This decision is my decision."
Premier John Brumby said the government had no influence over the timing of Mr Rees'
departure.
"This is a decision that he's reached, it's a decision he's reached by himself,
without any pressure from anybody, anywhere," Mr Brumby said.
"I put it on the record as plainly and as bluntly as I can. I believe ... that it's
the correct decision and we thank him for what has been a very, very successful
contribution to the CFA."
But Paul Hendrie, captain of Kinglake CFA brigade on Black Saturday, suspects Mr
Rees may have been pushed.
He said Mr Rees was positive about the job when he spoke to him three days before
the first anniversary of the February 7 fires.
"He said he was happy in the job and he was staying, and all that sort of stuff," Mr
Hendrie told AAP on Friday.
"It just surprises me today to hear that he's resigned.
"He might have said 'well the pressure is too much' and he might have moved on, but
in the back of your mind you think that maybe someone, somehow, somewhere along the
line, someone has pushed him."
Mr Rees will leave the job in June, a month before the commission delivers its
findings.
The final findings are expected to be as harsh as the interim report, which said Mr
Rees was not actively engaged in organising the fight against the February 7 fires.
"At the IECC (Integrated Emergency Co-ordination Centre) Mr Rees did not appear to
become actively involved in operational issues, even when the disastrous
consequences of the fires began to emerge," it said.
The commission declared no one had been in charge on the day.
"At the IECC there was no one person in charge. Neither the Chief Officer of the CFA
nor the Chief Fire Officer of DSE filled such a position."
Despite calls for his head, he signed a new two-year deal days before the
commission's interim report was released.
The fire chief, who spent four decades with the 60,000-member CFA as a volunteer and
career firefighter, said the time was right for him to quit after leading Victoria
through another bushfire season.
Mr Rees' resignation has prompted calls from the United Firefighters' Union for
Victoria's three fire agencies - the CFA, DSE and MFB - to become one.
"It's been decades of artificial and parochial barriers that have not been in the
interests of the community," national secretary Peter Marshall told AAP.



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