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The Minns Labor Government is taking the next step in modernising the management of the Rural Fire Service’s (RFS) 6,000-strong bush firefighting fleet, helping to better protect communities across NSW.

Amendments to the Rural Fires Act 1997 were introduced to NSW Parliament today to enable the transition of the ‘red fleet’ from council ownership to the RFS from 1 July 2027.

The transition is backed by a $470 million investment over ten years and will give the NSW Government greater oversight of the vehicles that firefighters and communities rely upon to respond to bushfires and other emergencies.

The new arrangement will deliver consistent statewide standards, improved reliability and better vehicle lifecycle management, while continuing the longstanding partnership with councils to support emergency services.

A key part of the transition will be establishing a network of up to eight regional maintenance hubs, with more than $29 million to be invested over two years to get the network up and running.

The regional hubs will also create jobs and apprenticeship opportunities while supporting local industry and strengthening the resilience of the RFS into the future.

A further $106 million will be invested over four years for critical maintenance and safety upgrades across the state.

Councils will be engaged over the coming months to support the transition and identify opportunities to support future maintenance.

Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said:

“This isn’t just an investment in trucks – we’re building the maintenance network behind them while creating regional jobs and making sure our RFS fleet is reliable and ready to respond.

“We’re making sure our firefighters have the vehicles and facilities they need to do their job when communities count on them the most.

“By investing in our firefighting fleet, support vehicles and facilities, we’re strengthening community safety and the resilience of our emergency response well into the future.”

Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig said:

“The current arrangements have left councils owning vehicles that are operated and managed by the RFS. This reform addresses that longstanding mismatch by aligning ownership with operational responsibility.

“Councils have an important role in bushfire prevention, hazard reduction and emergency management, and that partnership will continue.

“A transition of this scale needs to be carefully managed. Over the next 12 months, we will work closely with councils to make sure they are properly supported, that local knowledge is retained, and that the move to the new arrangements is practical and orderly.

“The Government’s $470 million investment over the next decade will support that transition and help deliver a safer, more reliable RFS fleet for communities across NSW.”

RFS Commissioner, Trent Curtin said:

“This is a landmark and momentous reform for the RFS and one of the most significant investments in our operational capability in recent years.

“Our firefighters rely on these vehicles every day in some of the most demanding and unpredictable conditions, and it is essential we equip them with a fleet that is safe, reliable and fit for purpose.

“This reform establishes, for the first time, a consistent and modern approach to fleet management across NSW. It strengthens safety, improves reliability and ensures our members are always ready to respond when communities need them.”

The Minns Labor Government has launched the first major review of the NSW Community Transport Program in more than a decade, as the 40-year-old program continues to connect people across NSW with essential services and their communities.

Each year, the NSW Government invests $13 million in the vital program, which helps eligible people who may not have access to other forms of transport get where they need to go.

In the last year, the NSW Community Transport Program supported almost 13,000 people who took more than 240,000 trips across NSW. Around 82 per cent of these trips helped customers access medical care, do their shopping and participate in everyday life.

Community transport services travelled more than 14.3 million kilometres over the same period, reflecting the distances some customers need to travel, particularly in regional and remote communities.

The program currently contracts 63 providers across every local government area in NSW, with around three-quarters of recorded trips delivered outside Sydney.

With community transport playing such an important role in the everyday lives of people across NSW, the review will help ensure the program continues to deliver the right support, in the right places, for the people who need it most.

The review will examine the program’s current service delivery arrangements, effectiveness, sustainability and future design, identifying opportunities to strengthen the program and ensure it remains responsive to changing community needs.

Transport for NSW will conduct targeted consultation with community transport providers, customers, councils, health organisations and sector representatives to help shape the program’s future. The review is expected to conclude in mid-2027.

Minister for Roads and Regional Transport, Jenny Aitchison:

“Community transport is a lifeline for thousands of people across NSW, particularly in regional communities where people often need to travel long distances to access services.

“After more than a decade without a major review, we’re making sure this vital program continues to deliver the right support, in the right places, for the people who need it most.

“Transport for NSW will work closely with passengers, providers and communities to strengthen the program and ensure it remains sustainable and responsive for years to come.”

Labour hire workers performing work for New South Wales councils will have their pay and conditions protected under legislative reforms that will be introduced by the Minns Labor Government.

Currently, NSW councils can undercut pay and conditions of their existing workforce by entering into a labour hire arrangement.

There is nothing stopping council park, maintenance or road workers, and many others, being replaced with a labour hire workforce doing the exact same job at the same place and same time, but on lower pay and conditions.

Under reforms announced by Premier Chris Minns at the United Services Union’s Annual Conference last night, the Government will introduce legislation to ensure all local government workers receive the same protections.

A council will not be able to enter into or amend a contract with a labour hire business for the supply of labour unless it is satisfied that each employee will receive at least the full rate of remuneration they would receive if employed directly by the council.

This will include applicable overtime and penalty rates, incentive-based payments and bonuses.

These reforms address a regulatory gap that means workers engaged by councils through labour hire businesses are some of the only workers in the country not provided pay and conditions protections.

They recognise that when councils have legitimate reasons to use labour hire firms over hiring staff in-house, these workers should receive the same renumeration for doing the same job.

This reform builds on the Minns Labor Government’s investment in the local government workforce, which includes directly funding the recruitment of an additional 1,700 apprentices, trainees and cadets in councils across the state, through the Fresh Start program.

The Government will introduce the Local Government Amendment (Labour Hire) Bill 2026 to Parliament next month to bring in these important protections for workers.

Minister for Industrial Relations Sophie Cotsis said:

“These reforms strike the right balance in giving councils the flexibility they need while making sure workers aren’t short-changed simply because they’re employed through labour hire.

“Two people doing the same job side-by-side deserve the same pay, no matter who is paying them.

“This is about a fair go for workers, a level playing field for employers and confidence in the local government workforce.”

Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig said:

“Council workers deserve a fair go. People doing the same work for the same council should not be paid less simply because they are employed through a labour hire company.

“NSW councils sit outside the national Fair Work system, so we are acting to make sure local government workers have proper protections.

But this is also about how we build stronger councils.

“Wherever possible, councils should be providing secure jobs rather than relying on labour hire to deliver the work communities depend on.

“Direct employment builds skills and experience inside councils. It provides more secure local jobs and gives councils greater capacity to deliver services and infrastructure themselves.

“More people employed directly by councils means stronger councils and a better capacity to serve their communities.

“Labour hire will still have a place when councils genuinely need it. But it should not be used to undercut the wages of council employees or as a substitute for maintaining a strong permanent workforce.

“More people employed directly by councils means stronger councils and a better capacity to serve their communities.”

General Secretary United Services Union Graeme Kelly said:

“The long-awaited decision by the Minns Labor Government to introduce Same Job Same Pay laws protecting local government jobs from contractors who undercut wages and conditions is fully supported by tens of thousands of council workers across NSW.

“These laws will ensure that anyone trying to undercut hard fought for conditions will now have maintain local government rates of pay and conditions.”

The Minns Labor Government has been sitting on detailed business cases for future rail links across Western Sydney, while refusing to say which projects will be backed and when growing communities will have access to the infrastructure they need. 
 
Documents obtained by Shadow Minister for Transport Natalie Ward reveal the station locations and alignment for the northern and southern extensions of the Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport line and a heavy rail extension from Leppington.
 
The future plans for Sydney Metro revealed in the confidential documents include: 
 
Metro Northern extension:
·        A five station extension from the currently under construction St Marys station to the existing Tallawong station.
·        Including stations at Emerton, Bidwell, Marsden Park and Schofields.
 
Metro South West Sydney Extension:
·        An eight-station extension from the currently under construction Bradfield to Campbelltown train station.
·        Including stations at Bradfield South, Maryland, Pondicherry, Oran Park, Narellan, Mount Annan, Macarthur.
 
South West Rail Extension:
·        A connection from Leppington station into the Western Sydney Airport precinct will be via the extending the existing Sydney Trains network rather than a new Metro line however, the new route only includes a single new station at Rossmore. 
·        The final business cases’ recommended option includes building a new interchange between Sydney Metro and the Sydney Trains network which will occur at a new station called Bradfield South. 
 
This will require a one station extension of the under-construction Metro Western Sydney Airport line and the delivery of the heavy rail extension. 
 
The documents also reveal Labor has examined imposing a new tax on homes and development around the proposed stations to help fund the projects.
 
Shadow Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Natalie Ward said Labor must explain why the future of the Sydney Metro’s network has been had been sitting on ministers’ desks since May without a decision or delivery plan. 
 
“The Opposition shouldn’t have to uncover the future Sydney Metro Network; I don’t understand the secrecy” Ms Ward said.
 
“Western Sydney does not need another report gathering dust. The next question is how we get it built — what it costs, how it would be staged, when construction could begin and when Western Sydney families could actually use it.”
 
“It is time Labor stopped stalling and give the public a plan of action.”

For the second time in just four months, the Legislative Council has struck down the Minns Labor Government’s council meeting rules, delivering a damning rebuke to Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig and a win for local democracy.
 
Last night’s disallowance of the Local Government (General) Amendment (Meetings) Regulation 2026 overturned councillor briefing restrictions the Government reintroduced after Parliament disallowed its Model Code of Meeting Practice in May.
 
Shadow Minister for Local Government Tim James said the Minister must stop doubling down and work with councils to get the rules right.
 
“Two parliamentary rejections in four months amount to a vote of no confidence in this Minister’s handling of the issue,” Mr James said.
 
“The Minister has been all at sea and good council governance is suffering. When Parliament rejected his Model Code, he remade the briefings restriction instead of fixing it.”
 
“Residents expect councils to spend their money wisely and make sound decisions about local roads, parks and community facilities. That requires councillors who can test advice, understand costs and ask hard questions. The Government’s
approach undermined their ability to do that.”
 
“The Minister must now deliver the workable Code of Meeting Practice he should have produced at the start of the year. Councillors need a briefings framework that strengthens transparency and allows them to do their jobs. Safeguards against decisions being made behind closed doors must not prevent proper scrutiny or force councils into bureaucratic workarounds.”
 
Mr James also warned that the draft model for distributing Commonwealth Financial Assistance Grants risks becoming the Minister’s next mess, with many NSW councils facing substantial funding cuts.
 
“Councils are sounding the alarm about cuts that would put more pressure on local infrastructure, services and ratepayers. The Minister cannot keep ignoring the consequences of decisions affecting the sector.”
 
“Dictating to councils has failed. The Minister needs to start listening and get this right. Good local government depends on it.”