If I was getting paid what I nornally earn, I wouldn't be a volunteer anymore. I'd also make more than the majority of full time firefighters in Australia.

I'm in the ACT. We've got a modern tanker fleet, CAFS tankers (almost nonexistent in NSW), everyone has current PPE, we've got all the tools we need, and 24/7 on call mechanics come out straight away to fix anything that breaks.

If we travel three hours to or from some job in Sydney or down the coast, as we very often do, the government arranges it and pays for it.

Volunteers shouldn't have to do that, and it's frankly dangerous for them to drive three hours to get home after 12 hours at an incident.

We do a fundraiser once a year for the brigade itself (new carpet for the training room in the shed etc, stuff like that), but all of our operational equipment is provided.