Right on but remember its not like criminal court either.
As government organisations we can't be above the law, however in saying that the unique nature of our business needs to be taken into account when we are within the court system i.e OHS&W prosecutions, criminal matters, civil proceedings.
Hopefully the revised legislation will prevent the publically aired naming of individuals & the public witch hunt that occurred. E.g if I have to attend court on a matter relating to Emergency Service work, then I should not be named in the media until it is proven beyond reasonable doubt that I a) acted outside of established procedures & b) was criminally negligent - grounds for punishment under the F&ES act. If that is not proven then why should I be named?
Finally this episode proves two things 1) ESO managers at all levels need to manage, if they don't have the skills then they need to be trained. If they do have the skills but still can't manage then new managers need to be found.
2) Society is changing, we are blaming the media in this instance for the problems(and yet in another topic want to use them to highlight issues) when in fact they were handed the silver bullets by some of the individuals involved. The days are long gone when a bunch of blokes could jump on the back of an old Bedford (or Holden Ute), race out to a fire/rescue, do what they think is their best and go home job done. Even though the public don't seem to care, they scrutinise everything we do! This is something we have to get used to, its called cover thy a***.
cheers
