The ACT's newly-appointed Emergency Services Commissioner will initiate health checks for all his operational firefighting staff as a priority when he formally takes up the top job in the next few weeks.
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The commitment by incoming ESA Commissioner Wayne Phillips will immediately win kudos with the United Firefighters Union, which has been pushing for the health checks for years and had been sharply critical of the ACT government for lagging behind on this commitment stemming from enterprise bargaining agreement negotiations back in 2020.
"I'm totally on board with this," he said.
"The procurement is happening; this year we will have those health screenings in place."
Commissioner Phillips grew up in country NSW and is a former NSW firefighter who had 32 years on the frontline, using the jaws of life to cut open car wrecks and fight suburban and urban blazes in the Sydney CBD, before stepping into a management role.
During the devastating 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires across NSW, he was involved in the strategic deployment of multiple strike teams over long weeks of operations.
Although an "outsider" to the ACT ranks, the new commissioner has been working behind the scenes in the territory for the past two years as assistant commissioner of corporate affairs within a diverse agency which manages firefighting, ambulance and emergency response services.
And for years a blame culture had festered within ESA.
It reached such a critical stage that in March last year, arguably the most powerful mandarin within the ACT government, Justice and Community Safety Directorate boss Richard Glenn, ordered the snap review led by former Ambulance Victoria executive Professor Tony Walker. The findings, delivered in June, were unflattering.
"Fundamentally, a cultural shift is needed, from a culture of blame and fear to one of trust and collaboration," Prof Walker's report said.
A month later, ESA commissioner Georgina Whelan had resigned from office.
Commissioner Phillips has been acting in the role since September and importantly, his appointment has strong union support.
"Having walked in their [the firefighters'] boots, we are confident that Commissioner Phillips will bring an exceptional level of understanding to the issues and challenges career firefighters face every day," federal secretary Greg McConville said.
Amiable, down-to-earth and clearly well-liked within the ranks, Commissioner Phillips said there was much to do to build "better engagement with our people".
"My first priority will always be to back our people first," he said. "Partnerships with other agencies are hugely important as well, including those within government ... others like ACT police, and NSW Rural Fire Service and SES."
Years of working in fire and rescue, extracting injured and dead people from car wrecks, made him powerfully aware of the toll such work takes on mental health.
"I know the impact this work has on first responders because I've done it, so I have real empathy on that issue," he said.
