Tasmanian firefighters critically underfunded despite promised $10 million

Labor Police, Fire, and Emergency spokesperson Michelle O'Byrne said the government is putting the safety of the Tasmanians at risk by not outlining when critical funding will be made available to community stations.

"The government announced almost a year ago, early May last year, that there would be $10 million made available around the state to make sure that these stations are up to standard," Ms O'Byrne said.

"We still don't have any commitments directly to those fire stations as to which will be getting funding.

"We've got stations around the state that are already not compliant with good health and safety standards, which is a significant issue that needs to be fixed."

Police, Fire, and Emergency Management Minister Felix Ellis said the funding was part of the government's commitment to investing in fire stations around Tasmania.

"We have a $10 million package that's going to be a significant boost in terms of fire stations and SES units right around the state," Mr Ellis said.

"The other day, we had $2 million for an SES vehicle boost. And that's going to be a huge increase in capability for SES right around the state.

"But the other part of that is our $8 million commitment. So whether that's an operational response or ensuring that our growing group of female volunteers are properly supported with facilities that are more appropriate, as well as important safety facilities for our volunteers as well - this is a government that actually believes in sustainable funding for fire and emergency services."

Ms O'Byrne said $8 million was not enough to deal with the many problems facing Tasmanian volunteer fire stations.

"Apparently, in the magical $8 million bucket that the government has, the funding needs to cover the fact that many stations don't have a plant maintenance program to deal with the quality of the floor and the quality of the buildings," she said.

"Many of these stations also don't have adequate showers and toilets.

"These are basic amenities that our volunteers need, not only to make sure that it is easy to be a volunteer firefighter but also so they can be safe."

On top of funding issues, Ms O'Byrne said the Tasmanian Fire Service also needed clarity on when a permanent fire chief would be appointed.

"It is deeply concerning that this has been delayed and that we have found ourselves in a situation where we are under-resourced during the fire season and still without a permanent fire chief more than six months after the Minister forced the resignation of well-respected fire chief Dermot Barry," Ms O'Byrne said.

Mr Ellis said recruitment for a replacement was underway.

"We're looking forward to working through that recruitment process," he said.