Victoria’s emergency services minister has condemned the United Firefighters Union after a bullet engraved with the word “RAT” and his former firefighter identification number was left on his car in Frankston.
Police are investigating the incident involving Paul Edbrooke, who said the threat was linked to his past as a firefighter and to an ongoing dispute with the union.
“This is a new low in a pattern of threatening behaviour against politicians,” Mr Edbrooke said in a statement. “There is a small minority in the UFU who think threats and intimidation are acceptable – this does not represent our firefighters.”
Mr Edbrooke worked as a firefighter in Frankston for 14 years, serving as the station’s United Firefighters Union workplace representative. He also attended the Black Saturday bushfires in Marysville and Kinglake.
Speaking to ABC radio, he said very few people knew his five-digit identification number and that he believed the bullet was connected to his firefighting career.
“The only people I’m really getting aggressive threats from at the moment are members of that union,” he said. “It’s one thing to be an armchair critic and say what you want from behind a computer. It’s another thing to follow somebody and put something on their car like a bullet.”
The minister said the dispute concerned an income protection scheme which he believed should benefit firefighters directly rather than the union. He rejected suggestions that the state government was threatening firefighter safety or staffing.
The incident came days after federal MP Helen Haines was allegedly deliberately struck by a car outside her electorate office. Dr Haines remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital after losing both legs in the crash, while the driver, Brendan Nugent, has been charged with several offences.
United Firefighters Union condemns threat
The UFU has recently been running television advertisements urging voters to put Labor last at next month’s state election, amid opposition to the government’s plan to end enforceable minimum staffing levels for firefighters.
UFU secretary Peter Marshall said minister Mr Edbrooke and Premier Ben Carroll would be “in the gun” if they affected union members. He later clarified that he meant “at the ballot box”.
“Threatening anyone, including a minister we strongly disagree with, is the opposite of everything this union stands for. I condemn it without qualification,” Mr Marshall said.
He said the person who left the bullet had not acted on behalf of the union or firefighters generally, and said he hoped police would identify the culprit.
Opposition leader Jess Wilson said there was no place for threats or intimidation in Victoria or Australia, adding that she could not imagine how upsetting the incident would be for Mr Edbrooke and his family.
