The New South Wales Government plans to drain fire services around the Hunter over the weekend to cater for the upcoming Supercars event.
Lambton and Tingira Heights staff and appliances will be backfilled into the Cooks Hill and Cardiff stations, with no further backfilling taking place to accommodate for the shortened services, resulting in longer response times from Friday to Sunday.
"The user pay system is in place to cover the costs of bringing in additional staff and vehicles when required."
Charlestown MP, Jodie Harrison, is also angered by the decision, believing the event is unfairly compromising the safety of the community.
"There's no question that the supercars is a very exciting event for Newcastle and the Hunter region generally but the Supercars event should not be used as an excuse for the government to reduce the services that are being provided by local fire services in our local fire stations", she said.
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| Photo: Daily Telegraph |
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| Photo: Newcastle Supercars Track- Motorsport.com |
