NSW Rural Fire Service creates first Indigenous Mitigation Crews

ABC News, 13 January 2020:

For the first time in the state's history, the NSW Rural Fire Service has created two all-Indigenous firefighting crews. 

Eight men, from Bourke and Brewarrina in far western New South Wales, have been handpicked by their elders to care for their country. 

The crews, called Indigenous Mitigation Crews, are charged with protecting sacred sites, caring for kin on reserves, and fighting remote fires. 

The opportunity has given Dale Barker a platform to change lives. 

"I just love helping the community out and seeing some of the younger Aboriginal kids watching us work and maybe thinking, oh yeah, I want to do that one day," he said. 

Mr Barker used to be a shearer. The work was hard, the shifts sporadic, and the pay patchy. 

The chance to lead Bourke's Indigenous Mitigation Crew has enabled him to take better care of himself and his family. 

"The hours we work are 8am until 4pm so the majority of the time I'm home to get dinner started, so that's a big plus for my wife and two kids," he said.