'It's time to act': National's Tim Costley on how proposed Fire and Emergency NZ reform will help firefighters

National's released an election proposal to make Fire and Emergency a departmental agency directly accountable to the Minister for Emergency Management. 

The party's also promising to make sure appliances on order are put into service, and to establish funded fleet replacement.

Meanwhile, Labour plans to initiate an independent review into Fire and Emergency’s funding and operations in order to ensure it has the right resources. 

National MP Tim Costley says the he's been working on this for two years, and the plan can't just be to make a new plan.

"We know the issues, we know they're wider than fleet - actually, if we value communities around New Zealand, if we value firefighters, it's time to act. And our three-point plan does that." 

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