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Victoria's firefighters' union claims New Zealand crews helping douse bushfires ravaging the state are being treated better than local workers.
United Firefighters Union state secretary Peter Marshall said a leaked document showed New Zealand firefighters were being paid A$600 ($685) a day, plus accommodation, travel and expenses.
In contrast, overworked Country Fire Authority (CFA) volunteers were paying their own way, he said.
"This week's report by Volunteering Australia argued for tax breaks for volunteers who sacrifice pay and pay their own expenses to serve their communities," he said.
"We'd argue that CFA volunteers are even more deserving than those who run school fetes or do weekend first aid."
The document was from the Department of Sustainability and Environment and Country Fire Authority to members of the Australasian Fire Authorities Council.
On Monday, a team of more than 100 United States firefighters began arriving in Melbourne to help attack Victoria's bushfires.
They follow several dozen Canadian and New Zealand firefighters who have bolstered firefighting efforts in the state's north-east and south in the past two months.
Mr Marshall also claimed that 800 Metropolitan Fire Brigade professional firefighters were standing idle as the international firefighters were being flown in.
- AAP
