Senator Babet has today called for the vaccine mandate for Victorian firefighters to be dropped forever.
“These dedicated men and women have been forced to follow a policy they don’t agree with – a policy that is no longer mandated by health authorities in Victoria as of three weeks ago,” said Senator Babet.
“This is the only fire service in Australia still enforcing mandates. With healthcare workers no longer required to be vaccinated, there are no arguments left to keep these risky measures in place.
“Firefighters were never mandated by the government to have these injections in the first place. Continuing to hold on to this flawed policy implemented by Fire Rescue Victoria is discriminatory and poses an unacceptable risk to work health and safety of the firefighters,” he said.
Staff shortages are critical in Victoria for firefighters, and have been for several years, according to a Herald Sun article published in June 2024.
“Victoria could well use the services of the fifty or so firefighters that have been affected. Critical staffing problems could be alleviated immediately if these outrageous mandates were dropped.
“These courageous men and women must be permitted to return to doing what they love and what they have dedicated their lives to: protecting and rescuing Victorians from fire. Let them return to work. Enough is enough,” said Senator Babet
