The NZPFU National Committee has decided to cancel today’s strike which was to occur for one hour from 12 noon.

The decision was made in recognition of the work of our members in weather events over the past couple of weeks and those off duty deserve a well-earned public holiday.

Various parts of New Zealand had been battered with extreme weather events with massive rainfall and flooding resulting in various Local Authorities declaring states of emergency and asking for affected communities to evacuate.  The deluge started in Dunedin, moved up through Canterbury to Kaikoura and across to Marlborough.   The excessive rain then moved onto the lower North Island up through the east coast with Wairarapa dealing with a major flood risk for the second time in 10 days.

NZPFU firefighter members were  deployed to assist and support volunteer brigades in a number of response areas including Blenheim and Wairoa, and specialist water rescue response was deployed to Kaikoura.  Behind the scenes the 111 emergency dispatchers worked tirelessly despite the continued failure of FENZ to properly staff the emergency communication centres. 

As today is a public holiday to mark Matariki, we thought it fitting to give our off-duty members and their supporters, including volunteers, the opportunity to have the full day off with family and friends.

Matariki is a time for reflection, preparation, and celebration.

FENZ held a Matariki event this week – we hope they took those principles seriously and will be held accountable to make decisions to address the dire state of the fire service which is increasing the risk to the public (seen in the increasing levels of fire deaths) and those who respond.