NSW government defends emergency service budget cuts

NSW budget papers reveal the State Emergency Service (SES), Rural Fire Service (RFS) and Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) have suffered deep cuts following the NSW state budget.

The SES had its budget slashed by 17 per cent from $304,347,000 in 2023/2024 to $259,027,000 in 2024/2025.

The RFS budget is also down three per cent from $756,077,000 to $733,816,000 in the same period.

FRNSW received an increase in funding from 2023/2024 to 2024/2025 but when the actual spend of 2023/2024 is factored in it results in a budget cut of $54,239,000.

Opposition emergency services minister Gurmesh Singh told ACM the cuts were "concerning".

"Given that it has been two years since the last major disaster...particularly if we start seeing drier conditions obviously the bushfire risk will increase and we know the risk of floods from storms is always present," he said.

Mr Singh said the government had "deprioritized spending on emergency services" and had "a different set of spending priorities".

But a spokesperson for emergency services minister Jihad Dib rejected the criticism.

The spokesperson said a boost for emergency services should be looked at over a four-year period.

"Under the 2024-25 Budget, the NSW State Emergency Service (SES) will receive a boost of $94.7 million over four years in a sustained uplift that will support the critical role of the agency and save it from the fiscal cliff left by the former government," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the funding shortfall was also because the 2023/2024 figures were inflated by delays in implementing 2022 Flood Inquiry outcomes in the prior year.

"In this year's budget, the NSW Government also invested an additional $189.5 million over four years to ensure Fire and Rescue NSW can respond to emergencies and keep the community safe, restoring job security for 286 existing firefighters who did not previously have ongoing funding," the spokesperson said.