Should Australia's volunteer firefighters receive payment? - Web links, documents and video clips

On December 31, 2019, The Canberra Times published an editorial titled 'Scott Morrison right to hesitate over paying volunteer firefighters'
The editorial seeks to justify Morrison reluctance to make such payments.
The full text can be accessed at

On December 30, 2019, The Goondiwindi Argus published a comment by Emily Sweet titled 'Voice of Real Australia: Volunteer help goes beyond state lines' which criticises the current interim compensation scheme for volunteer firefighters for not having immediately been applied nationally.
The full text of the comment can be accessed at

On December 29, 2019, The Canberra Times published a report titled 'Govt agrees to NSW volunteer firey payment'. The report details the government's decision to make up to $6000 available to volunteer firefighters in New South Wales who had been fighting the current fires for more than ten days.
The full text can be accessed at

On December 29, 2019, The Brisbane Times published a report titled '"An insult": Queenslanders question volunteer firefighter payment scheme' which treats the concerns of the Queensland premier and others regarding the Australia-wide applicability of the firefighter compensation scheme announced for New South Wales'
The full text can be accessed at

On December 28, 2019, The Daily Telegraph published a comment by Sky News commentator Peta Credlin 'Is paying volunteer firefighters worth the long-term price?' is which she claims there are multiple disadvantages to paying volunteer firefighters.
The full text can be accessed at

On December 25, 2019, The Guardian published a comment by the paper's environment editor Adam Morton titled 'Yes, Australia has always had bushfires: but 2019 is like nothing we've seen before' which outlines the unprecedented nature of the current fires.
The full text can be accessed at

On December 24, 2019, The New Daily published a report titled 'PM backs down: More paid leave for some volunteer firefighters' which presents the federal government's decision to extend the leave of public servants who are volunteer firefighters.
The full text can be found at

On December 24, 2019, The Sydney Morning Herald published a report titled 'RFS boss rejects calls for firefighters to be compensated' which outlined the objections of New South Wales Rural Fire Service commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons, to calls for his members to be compensated for their work in the ongoing bushfire crisis.
The full text can be accessed at

On December 23, 2019, The Australian published a report titled 'Pay would threaten volunteer "ethos" of RFS, NSW minister David Elliott warns' which quoted the view of the New South Wales Minister for Emergency Services that paying volunteers would undermine the volunteer ethos.
The full text can be accessed at

On December 23, 2019, The Sydney Morning Herald published a news report titled '"Out of control": Volunteer firefighters demand income support, equipment' which details the comments of Mick Holton, the president of the Volunteer Fire Firefighters Association that more needs to be done by the federal government to support firefighters.
The full text can be accessed at

On December 18, 2019, Independent Australia published a comment by Binoy Kampmark titled 'Morrison's bush fire problem' which is critical of the federal government's response to Australia's bushfire crisis.
The full text can be accessed at

On December 13, 2019, The Courier published a report titled 'Heartfelt plea to Prime Minister Scott Morrison from Hunter firefighter's wife Amelia Attkins' which quoted at length from an open letter from a firefighter's wife calling on the prime minister Scott Morrison to give financial support to firefighters.
The full article, including the letter in full, can be accessed at

On December 12, 2019, The Guardian published a report titled 'Fireys and fury: exhausted volunteers decry PM's claim they "want to be there"' which quotes firefighters claiming they need additional support and rejecting the prime minister Scott Morrison's claim that they 'want to be there'.
The full text can be accessed at

On December 12, 2019, The Guardian published a report titled 'Volunteer firefighters in Australia warned not to crowdfund for equipment' which details an operational memo sent to brigade leaders by New South Wales Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner Rob Rogers advising against crowd funding for equipment.
The full text can be accessed at

On December 10, 2019, The Guardian published a report titled 'Scott Morrison rejects calls for more bushfire help, saying volunteer firefighters "want to be there"' which presented the then view of the prime minister Scott Morrison as to why the federal government did not need to make further previsions regarding bushfires.
The full text of this report can be accessed at

On December 7, 2019, The Sydney Morning Herald published a comment by the paper's political and international editor, Peter Hatcher, titled 'Fire? What fire? It's business as usual in Morrison's Canberra bubble'
The comment is critical of the government's response to Australia's bushfire emergency.
The full text of the opinion piece can be accessed at

On November 21, 2019, SBS's The Feed published an analysis titled 'Why do Australia's bushfire defences rely on tens of thousands of volunteers?' which examines the historical origins of the volunteer fire services and the functions they currently perform.
The full text can be accessed at

On November 17, 2019, The Guardian published a comment an analysis by Amy Remeikis titled 'Australia's bushfire politics: the parties prevaricate while the country burns' which criticises the federal government's lack of action regarding the impending bushfire crisis.
The full text can be accessed at