Fire Union Move 'Digusting'

The pathetic gesture by the Professional Firefighters' Union to complain to the Race Relations Conciliator was totally condemned today by Internal Affairs Minister Jack Elder.

"It is a disgrace that they react to a very real problem by pretending it doesn't exist," he said.

"The union has time and again shown its inability to respond to changes in society in its determination to hang on to the terms and conditions of a bygone age."

Fire Service statistics show that 52 percent of people who died in house fires last year were Maori, and that people aged under 19 were the most highly represented in fire deaths.

"I make no apology for pointing out reality and for trying to find a way to increase fire safety. I believe saving lives is more important than saving feather-bedded employment contract conditions.

"The sooner the union leadership gets its collective head out of the sand bucket and faces up to the real world, the better for all New Zealanders."