- No! www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Able 2015 KIA ORA. GOOD EVENING. THIS STORY STARTED WITH A TRICKLE, WHICH THEN TURNED INTO A FLOOD. FIREFIGHTERS AROUND THE COUNTRY TALKING ABOUT BULLYING AND HARASSMENT AT WORK. MANY WERE FRIGHTENED TO GO PUBLIC. SOME USED FALSE EMAIL ADDRESSES OR EVEN DISPOSABLE CELL PHONES TO SLIP INFORMATION TO '3D INVESTIGATES'. AND THEN SARAH HALL WAS LEAKED SECTIONS OF A REPORT. IT WAS WRITTEN BY AN ACADEMIC HIRED BY THE FIRE SERVICE THAT SEEMED TO SHOW BULLYING WAS SERIOUS AND ENTRENCHED. BUT THAT WAS ONLY THE START OF WHAT'S BEEN A MOST UNUSUAL INVESTIGATION. PENSIVE MUSIC I LEFT THE FIRE SERVICE BECAUSE I WAS INTIMIDATED AND BULLIED. I'VE BEEN BULLIED AND HUMILIATED AND HARASSED. THE NZ FIRE SERVICE BULLIED ME OUT OF THE FIRE BRIGADE. I'VE BEEN BULLIED BY THE NZ FIRE SERVICE. I WAS UNFAIRLY DISMISSED FOR GIVING A LIFESAVING DRUG TO A CRITICALLY ILL PATIENT. THEY ARE THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO KEEP OUR COMMUNITIES SAFE, GIVING UP THEIR SPARE TIME TO VOLUNTEER FOR THE NZ FIRE SERVICE. BULLIED OUT; BULLIED OUT; BULLIED OUT; BULLIED OUT; BULLIED OUT; HE'S GONE; SHE'S GONE; SHE'S GONE; HE WAS DEFINITELY BULLIED OUT; HE WAS BULLIED OUT; HE WAS BULLIED OUT; HE WAS BULLIED OUT; HE'S LEFT; SHE WAS DEFINITELY BULLIED OUT. THERE'S NO DOUBT THERE IS BULLYING IN THE SERVICE. THEY ADMIT THERE IS. THE QUESTION IS ` HOW MUCH? LOOK, I THINK BULLYING OCCURS IN ALL WORK PLACES. IT HAPPENS IN THE FIRE SERVICE. WE'VE GOT 10,000 PEOPLE. IT'S GOING TO OCCUR. WE'VE BEEN ACTIVELY ` PARTICULARLY THE LAST TWO YEARS ` PUTTING A REAL FOCUS ON ELIMINATING BULLYING IN THE FIRE SERVICE, AND THE BEST THING WE CAN DO IS TO GET PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT IT. THE FIRE SERVICE SAYS IT'S CARRIED OUT ITS OWN STUDIES, AND BULLYING IS ONLY 'A VERY SMALL CONCERN'. BUT FIREFIGHTERS WE SPOKE TO BELIEVE BULLYING HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO FLOURISH. DECORATED DURING HIS NINE YEARS IN THE KAIAPOI FIRE BRIGADE, BRENT CAIRNS' PROBLEMS STARTED WITH A PETTY ROW WHEN HE USED HIS FIRE TRUCK WITHOUT PERMISSION TO WATER SOME TREES AT THIS MAYORAL CEREMONY. THINGS ESCALATED, AND HE WAS EVENTUALLY DISCHARGED FROM THE BRIGADE. IT'S BEEN VERY UNFAIR. I BELIEVE IT'S BEEN UNETHICAL, AND THE WAY I'VE BEEN TREATED HAS BEEN UNPROFESSIONAL. IAN THOMAS WAS ALSO WITH THE KAIAPOI BRIGADE FOR 33 YEARS, EVENTUALLY BECOMING DEPUTY CHIEF. HE WOULD DO A FULL DAY'S WORK AS A TRUCK DRIVER THEN ATTEND EMERGENCIES AT NIGHT. HE'S JUST RETIRED. JUST THE TREATMENT I'VE BEEN GETTING, BEEN SINGLED OUT. IT'S LIKE I CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT SOMEBODY,... NOT PUTTING THE KNIFE IN, AS SUCH, BUT QUESTIONING MY ACTIONS. I'VE BEEN PICKED ON, SORT OF THING, VICTIMISED. SOMEONE THERE OVER YOU, TELLING YOU WHAT TO DO ALL THE TIME. IT'S PEER PRESSURE. IT'S... IT'S THREATENING. THE FIRE SERVICE SAYS MORALE HAS IMPROVED SINCE IAN AND BRENT LEFT KAIAPOI. BUT YOU CAN'T UNDERESTIMATE THE HURT SOME VOLUNTEERS FEEL WHEN THEY LEAVE THE JOBS THEY LOVE. TAKE THE CASE OF JUDE MARKS. THIS IS REALLY HARD, BECAUSE, UM... JUDE WANTED NOTHING MORE THAN TO HELP PEOPLE. AND YOU EFFECTIVELY SAVED SOMEBODY'S LIFE. YOU'RE THEN SUSPENDED FOR IT. > YEP. YEP. SHE WENT TO HELP A DIABETIC WOMAN AT A HOTEL SOUTH OF CHRISTCHURCH. I KNEW IT WAS CRITICAL. UM, AND BECAUSE SHE WAS HAVING SEIZURES, IT WAS TELLING ME THAT HER BRAIN WAS SHUTTING DOWN BECAUSE IT NEEDED THE GLUCOSE. BUT JUDE HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN TOLD BY THE FIRE CHIEF SHE COULD NOT GIVE MEDICAL TREATMENT WHILE OFFICIALLY ON A FIRE SERVICE CALL-OUT, EVEN THOUGH SHE HAD QUALIFICATIONS. YOU WERE A THIRD-YEAR NURSING STUDENT, JUST ABOUT TO GRADUATE. > YEP. AND YOU WERE ALSO A ST JOHN'S AMBULANCE OFFICER. > YES. SO YOU HAD QUITE A LOT OF MEDICAL TRAINING. > YES. IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT WOULD'VE HAPPENED TO THAT PATIENT IF YOU HADN'T ADMINISTERED THE DRUG? SHE COULD'VE DIED. A SERIES OF ALLEGATIONS FOLLOWED JUDE'S DISMISSAL. SOME WENT BACK SEVEN YEARS. LIKE OTHER VOLUNTEERS WE'D SPOKEN TO, JUDE SAYS IT WAS THE LACK OF A PROPER DISPUTE PROCESS THAT LEFT HER DISILLUSIONED AND OUT OF HER JOB. YOU SEE, THE VOLUNTEERS ARE NOT COVERED BY EMPLOYMENT LAW AND DON'T HAVE A UNION. SO WHAT DOES THE FIRE SERVICE HAVE TO SAY ABOUT JUDE'S CASE? IF WE'RE DEALING WITH THE JUDE MARKS ISSUE, UH, SHE WAS DISCHARGED FROM THE BRIGADE BUT UNDER REVIEW. UH, SHE WILL BE REINSTATED INTO THE BRIGADE. BUT SEVERAL MONTHS ON, THAT HASN'T HAPPENED. HER BRIGADE TOOK A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE, AND JUDE MARKS IS OUT. THE FIRE SERVICE SAYS 'IT IS IMPORTANT EVERYONE IN A BRIGADE FOLLOWS THE RULES'. MOST OF THE TIME, THESE VOLUNTEER BRIGADES, THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY ARE VERY HARMONIOUS. THEY'RE ALL UNIFIED UNDER A COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY. BUT NOW AND THEN, THINGS GO WRONG. WHEN YOU GOT 10,000 PEOPLE, THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. RELATIONSHIPS BREAKDOWN, AND THE LEADERSHIP CAPABILITY OF PEOPLE WITH THAT SORT OF STRAIN WILL VARY. WE'RE CONSCIOUS OF THAT, AND WE WANT TO GET IN THERE AND SUPPORT THEM. BUT SOME OF THE BRIGADES TOLD US THEY DON'T FEEL SUPPORTED. AS FAR AS WE ARE AS VOLUNTEERS, REALLY WE'RE A DISPOSABLE ITEM. IN THE SMALL SEASIDE COMMUNITY OF MANGAWHAI, NORTH OF AUCKLAND, LOCALS SAY 15 VOLUNTEERS HAVE LEFT IN THE PAST FEW YEARS. IT'S BECOME SO BAD THAT, AT TIMES, THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH QUALIFIED VOLUNTEERS TO STAFF THE TRUCKS IN AN EMERGENCY. A MEDIATOR CONCLUDED THAT THE BRIGADE WAS 'SEVERELY DYSFUNCTIONAL'. THE AREA BOSS FOUND THAT 'DYSFUNCTION' IN THE BRIGADE 'HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PUT PUBLIC SAFETY AT RISK'. THE COMMUNITY IS UP IN ARMS. IS BULLYING ALLOWED AT SCHOOL? NO. IS BULLYING ALLOWED AT YOUR WORKPLACE? NO. SO WHY DOES IT HAVE TO HAPPEN HERE? WITH VOLUNTEERS? WITH VOLUNTEERS? THE WHOLE THING IS JUST LUDICROUSLY DANGEROUS. IS THERE GOING TO BE A DEATH BEFORE SOMETHING IS DONE? THESE GUYS ARE SITTING HERE WAITING TO GO BACK AND BE PART OF THE COMMUNITY, BE PART OF THEIR TEAM, BE PART OF THE VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADE, AND THEY CAN'T DO IT UNTIL THIS PERSON IS REMOVED. ROSS AND JIM WERE BOTH VOLUNTEERS AT THE MANGAWHAI BRIGADE. THEY CLAIM THEY WERE BULLIED OUT, AND THE FIRE SERVICE LET IT HAPPEN. I'VE BEEN HARASSED TWO OR THREE OCCASIONS ON THE FIRE GROUND WITH` FOR NO REASON AT ALL. WOULD YOU DESCRIBE WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU AS BULLYING? > OH, MOST DEFINITELY BULLYING, INTIMIDATION, HUMILIATION. ALL OF THE ABOVE. YEP. WE HAVE OBTAINED THIS AUDIO RECORDING OF AN INCIDENT BETWEEN A SENIOR OFFICER AND A MANGAWHAI VOLUNTEER, WHO RECORDED IT ON HIS PHONE. THE SENIOR OFFICER WAS RECENTLY DEMOTED AFTER AN INDEPENDENT INQUIRY WHICH FOUND HIS BEHAVIOUR 'INAPPROPRIATE', BUT DID NOT CONSTITUTE BULLYING. THE FIRE SERVICE SAYS, AFTER TWO INVESTIGATIONS, ALL OF THE BULLYING ALLEGATIONS LACKED SUBSTANCE, AND THE PROBLEMS AT MANGAWHAI ARE BECAUSE OF 'POOR RELATIONSHIPS', BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT THE LOCALS THINK. FOR ME, AS A WIFE, AND PROBABLY FOR ANY OF THESE OTHER GUYS WHO HAVE HAD INVESTIGATIONS DONE AROUND THE BULLYING, UM, THERE'S ACTUALLY NO HOPE, BECAUSE WHAT THEY DO IS THEY MAKE IT LOOK LIKE THEY'RE ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING TO HELP YOU. THEY'RE ACTUALLY NOT DOING ANYTHING TO HELP YOU. THEY'RE DOING SOMETHING TO HELP THEMSELVES SO THEY CAN JUST PLAY THE WHOLE THING DOWN AND GET AWAY WITH IT, BECAUSE THIS IS JUST GOING TO CONTINUE ON AND ON AN ON. THE MORE PEOPLE WE TALKED TO, THE MORE COMPLAINTS WE HEARD, AND THE MORE CONFUSED WE GOT. WE RECEIVED THIS DOCUMENT, PURPORTING TO BE AN INTERNAL FIRE SERVICE REPORT, WHICH CLAIMS EXTRAORDINARILY HIGH LEVELS OF BULLYING. SO HOW CAN THE FIRE SERVICE SAY BULLYING IS JUST A MINOR CONCERN? What do you think? Yeah. Nah, good. Hey, hon. How's the painting? Oh, hi, Kev. What do you think? Yeah. Nah, good. Be honest. Nice. Kev, honesty. Uh, I like it. (SIGHS) What? What's wrong? (SIGHS) You've changed your mind, haven't you? Pink?! Magenta. We should've gone with magenta. Oh, pink, magenta ` same thing, isn't it? They're not the same thing, Kev. When you paint with Valspar, if you're not in love with your colour, you can change it for free. IT WAS WRITTEN BY AN ACADEMIC HIRED BY THE FIRE SERVICE THIS IS A REPORT THAT WAS LEAKED TO '3D INVESTIGATES' CALLED 'PROJECT MAHITAHI'. POOR MANAGEMENT AND INTIMIDATION. STAFF INTERVIEW QUOTES FROM THE REPORT MAKE FOR UNCOMFORTABLE READING. READS: 'I WENT TO <BLEEP> ABOUT SEVERAL INCIDENTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT. 'HE TOLD ME THAT SINCE I WANTED TO PLAY LIKE THE BOYS, I SHOULD EXPECT TO BE TREATED LIKE ONE OF THEM. 'SEX IS PART OF THE GAME.' 'HE ARRIVED AT THE <BLEEP> STATION INTOXICATED AND SLURRING HIS WORDS. IT WAS AN EMBARRASSMENT.' 'PROMOTIONS AREN'T BASED ON SKILL AND EXPERIENCE. THEY ARE BASED ON WHO CAN KEEP SECRETS.' AND, 'MY MANAGER IS RUDE AND ABUSIVE. 'HE BARKS ORDERS THAT ARE UNCLEAR, THEN REPRIMANDS WHEN WE FAIL TO DELIVER.' BUT THE RESPONSE FROM THE FIRE SERVICE IS JUST AS FORCEFUL. IT SENT US NUMEROUS LETTERS TELLING US NOT TO USE ANY MATERIAL FROM THE REPORT, WHICH IT SAYS LACKS ANY CREDIBILITY WHATSOEVER. IT WAS WRITTEN BY THIS WOMAN, DR DONNA STEMMER, AN AMERICAN ACADEMIC HIRED BY THE FIRE SERVICE. DR STEMMER INTERVIEWED 185 FIREFIGHTERS FROM REGION TWO IN THE CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND ` THAT MUCH IS AGREED. HER INITIAL POWERPOINT PRESENTATION TO FIRE CHIEFS BARELY MENTIONED BULLYING, BUT THEN, WE HAVE BEEN TOLD, TWO THINGS HAPPENED. FIRST, DR STEMMER ANALYSED THE INTERVIEWS AND CONCLUDED WHILE THE FIRE-FIGHTERS MIGHT NOT HAVE USED THE WORD 'BULLYING', THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE DESCRIBING. SECOND, DR STEMMER CARRIED OUT 117 EXTRA INTERVIEWS AS FIREFIGHTERS THROUGHOUT NZ CAME FORWARD. THEY ALSO DESCRIBED BULLYING. WHEN SHE ANALYSED ALL OF THE INTERVIEWS TOGETHER, SHE FOUND 92% OF THEM CONTAINED INSTANCES OF HARASSMENT OR BULLYING. BUT THIS IS WHAT THE FIRE SERVICE DOES NOT ACCEPT. THEY SAY TO GO FROM A MINOR ISSUE TO 92% IS AN IMPOSSIBILITY, THAT THE EXTRA 117 INTERVIEWS DID NOT TAKE PLACE, AND THE REPORT IS A 'COMPLETE FABRICATION'. I BELIEVE THAT BECAUSE MANAGEMENT DIDN'T LIKE WHAT WAS IN THE FINDINGS, THEY KILLED THE PROJECT, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, DR DONNA STEMMERS WAS NOT IN THE ORGANISATION. CHRIS WALBRAN IS A MAN WHO KNOWS PLENTY ABOUT THE FIRE SERVICE. HE WAS A VOLUNTEER FOR 25 YEARS AND RECENTLY RETIRED FROM 11 YEARS AT NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS. HE DOESN'T HAVE A HIGH OPINION OF THE WAY THE ORGANISATION IS RUN. MARGINALISATION, ISOLATION, RAILROADING, UM,... PHYSICAL INTIMIDATION. OVER THE 40 YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRE SERVICE, I'VE SEEN IT ALL. SO WHAT DOES CHRIS WALBRAN KNOW ABOUT DR STEMMER'S REPORT AND THE FIRE SERVICE'S CLAIM THAT THE 117 INTERVIEWS OUTSIDE REGION TWO DID NOT TAKE PLACE? I PERSONALLY KNOW OF TWO PEOPLE FROM OUTSIDE REGION TWO WHO PARTICIPATED IN THAT SURVEY. WE ALSO SPOKE TO OTHERS OUTSIDE OF REGION TWO WHO TOLD US THEY TOOK PART. AND YET THE FIRE SERVICE SAYS THERE IS NO RECORD OF THE FINAL REPORT ON THEIR COMPUTER SYSTEM. AND THEY SUGGEST THAT DONNA STEMMER MADE IT UP AFTER LEAVING THE FIRE SERVICE IN 2014. < WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE FIRE SERVICE'S ALLEGATIONS THAT THIS REPORT HAS BEEN WRITTEN AFTER < DONNA STEMMER LEFT THE FIRE SERVICE? WELL, CERTAINLY THE TWO SECTIONS THAT I GOT BACK IN 2013, I BELIEVE WAS OBTAINED FROM SOMEONE IN THE FIRE SERVICE THAT HAD THE REPORT. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE FIRE SERVICE'S REACTION TO OUR QUESTION ABOUT THIS MAHITAHI REPORT? I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK ABOUT THEIR REACTION, BUT TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THE SECTIONS THAT I GOT DID EXIST. BUT THE FIRE SERVICE TOLD US NO ONE IN THE ORGANISATION SAW THESE SECTIONS, AND WHAT'S MORE, AS EVIDENCE THE EXTRA INTERVIEWS DIDN'T TAKE PLACE, THEY SAY THE TRANSCRIBER THEY HIRED DIDN'T HAVE THE TIME TO DO MORE THAN 150 INTERVIEWS IN TOTAL. HOWEVER, WE SPOKE TO HER, AND SHE SAYS SHE DID 219 INTERVIEWS AND DR STEMMER MANY MORE HERSELF. BUT REGARDLESS OF THE CLAIMS OF FABRICATION, THE FIRE SERVICE ALSO SAYS THE STEMMER REPORT IS LITTERED WITH 'INCONSISTENCIES, ABSURDITIES AND GENERALITIES'. I HAVE ALWAYS FOUND DR DONNA STEMMER AS A VERY ACADEMIC PERSON, UH, WHO WAS ABLE TO ARTICULATE VERY WELL FROM A HOLISTIC POINT OF VIEW WHAT SHE WAS TRYING TO DO MAY NOT RELATE TO WHAT SHE WAS SAYING WHEN SHE WAS HAVING DISCUSSIONS WITH THEM, BUT I CERTAINLY WOULDN'T CALL IT FANTASY. ALL THREE SAID IT WAS ACADEMICALLY ROBUST. SO WHAT IS IT? COMPLETELY FLAWED, WRONG AND LARGELY INVENTED OR AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH THAT THE FIRE SERVICE DOES NOT WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE? HI, IS THAT YOU, DONNA? OF COURSE WE WANTED TO INTERVIEW DONNA STEMMER HERSELF. YES, HI, IT'S SARAH HALL SPEAKING FROM TV3'S 3D PROGRAMME. I WAS JUST WONDERING IF I COULD COME INSIDE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT PROJECT MAHITAHI? RIGHT, SO YOU CAN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THAT PROJECT TO US? WHAT WE DO KNOW IS DR STEMMER LEFT THE FIRE SERVICE. SHE'D GIVEN THE PEOPLE SHE INTERVIEWED AN ASSURANCE OF CONFIDENTIALITY SO THEY COULD SPEAK WITHOUT FEAR OF REPERCUSSION. BUT A SENIOR FIRE OFFICER INSISTED SHE HAND OVER THE INTERVIEWS. DONNA STEMMER REFUSED, BECAUSE IT COULD BREACH FIREFIGHTERS' PRIVACY. THE FIRE SERVICE ACCUSED HER OF SERIOUS MISCONDUCT. SHE ACCUSED THEM OF WRONGFUL DISMISSAL. THESE FIREFIGHTERS WERE INTERVIEWED ON THE BASIS OF CONFIDENTIALITY AND THEN <BLEEP> WANTS TO SEE ALL OF THEIR RESPONSES, WHICH WOULD IDENTIFY THEM. THAT'S NOT CORRECT. HE NEVER ASKED TO SEE ALL OF THOSE INTERVIEWS? NO, HE NEVER ASKED TO SEE THE INTERVIEWS` WELL, I HAVE AN EMAIL, DATED 9TH OF APRIL, WHERE HE SAID,... (READS) 'AS PER OUR DISCUSSION THIS MORNING, IT IS MY INSTRUCTION TO YOU TO DELIVER THE MAHITAHI DATA 'AND DOCUMENTATION IN ITS ENTIRETY TO ME BEFORE THE END OF CLOSING.' YES, AND THAT DATA WOULD BE IMMEDIATELY BE SENT TO OUR PRIVACY OFFICER TO BE ARCHIVED. < THEN HE ASKED TO SEE IT. WELL, HE DIDN'T WANT TO SEE THE DATA ITSELF. HE WANTED TO ENSURE THAT THE COMMITMENT MADE ON BEHALF OF THE FIRE SERVICE TO OUR EMPLOYEES WAS BEING HONOURED AND NOT BEING HELD BY ONE PERSON BUT BEING HELD BY THE FIRE SERVICE` IT WASN'T BEING HELD BY ONE PERSON. IT WAS BEING HELD BY A TEAM. BEING HELD BY THE FIRE SERVICE PRIVACY OFFICER. SO THE FIRE SERVICE SAYS THEY ONLY WANTED THE INTERVIEWS FOR SAFE KEEPING. WHATEVER THE CASE, DONNA STEMMER LOST HER JOB AND HAD TO SIGN A CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT STOPPING HER FROM SPEAKING PUBLICALLY. Stop moping. The lad's gone. Oh. Yeah. (SIGHS) INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS Ooh. Sorry. Oh. (SIGHS) Grandpa? Are you there? Sorry. Grandpa? CELL PHONE BUZZES, CHIMES INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS You've sent it. (CHUCKLES) (CHUCKLES) Whacko. CELL PHONE BUZZES, CHIMES Whether it's simple tips or tricky tech solutions, Vodafone Ninjas are here to help. IF THERE'S ANYTHING GOING ON, LET'S TALK ABOUT IT. LET'S HAVE A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ABOUT IT. THIS IS A FIRE SERVICE VIDEO AIMED AT IMPROVING LEADERSHIP SKILLS WITHIN THE ORGANISATION. TO THAT END, AFTER MAHITAHI, THE SERVICE HAS ALSO CARRIED OUT DISCUSSIONS WITH MORE THAN 4000 STAFF IN A PROJECT KNOWN AS 'VISION2020'. IT FOUND THAT LESS THAN HALF OF 1% OF PEOPLE EXPRESSED CONCERNS ABOUT BULLYING. ALSO THE SERVICE HAS COMMISSIONED TWO PSYCHOLOGISTS TO TALK TO 200 STAFF IN FOCUS GROUPS. OF MORE THAN 3000 RESPONSES, THEY SAY ONLY 14 WERE ABOUT BULLYING. WE HAVE COMMUNICATED WITH ALL OUR STAFF, AND WE'VE MADE CLEAR WE HAVE NO TOLERANCE FOR BULLYING, AND THEY MUST REPORT BULLYING. AND I EXPECT PEOPLE TO CALL ME PERSONALLY IF THEY FEEL THAT THEIR BULLYING COMPLAINT ISN'T BEING ADDRESSED. SOUNDS FAIR ENOUGH. BUT A GOVERNMENT REVIEW OF THE FIRE SERVICE HAS RECEIVED PUBLIC SUBMISSIONS LIKE THIS. READS: 'THE NZ FIRE SERVICE IS TAKE, TAKE, TAKE, AND THEY ARE ABUSING VOLUNTEERS' GOOD WILL.' 'RECENT INSTANCES OF HARASSMENT AND BULLYING IS TARNISHING OUR IMAGE.' DO YOU THINK THE PEOPLE, THEN, THAT HAVE JUST SPOKEN TO US ARE JUST THE TROUBLEMAKERS? THAT THEY ARE JUST A SMALL GROUP, AND THEY ARE NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE OTHER VOLUNTEERS WHO LEAVE THE FIRE SERVICE? LOOK, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY A FAIR COMMENT. UM... YOU'RE TALKING TO PROBABLY A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE OUT OF 10,000 PEOPLE. NOT EVERYBODY IS GOING TO BE SATISFIED WITH THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN A LOCAL BRIGADE. BUT BACK IN MANGAWHAI, THE APPROACH OF SUMMER IS BRINGING HEIGHTENED CONCERNS AND URGENCY. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE NOW, BECAUSE WE HAVE AN EIGHT-WEEK WINDOW WHERE WE HAVE OUR POPULATION GROW BY... 10,000 TO 20,000. WE WILL NOT HAVE A FIRE BRIGADE. ALLAN HALSE IS A WORK-AND-SAFETY EXPERT WHOSE BEEN ASKED TO REPRESENT THIS COMMUNITY. WHAT HAPPENS AND WHAT APPLIES UNDER THE HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT AND WORKPLACE BULLYING GUIDELINES APPLIES TO THE VOLUNTEERS AT MANGAWHAI. REMEMBER, LOCALS SAY 15 VOLUNTEERS HAVE LEFT THAT BRIGADE OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, MANY OF THEM CITING BULLYING. 'MAN: THEY'RE BIG, STRONG, HEALTHY KIWI BLOKES, AND SO THEY'RE NOT DELICATE FLOWERS. 'SO IF THEY BELIEVE IT'S UNSAFE, IT'S UNSAFE.' AND IT HAS TO BE REALLY REALLY SIGNIFICANT FOR THE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE, VOLUNTEERS, TO RESIGN EN MASSE LIKE THEY HAVE UP THERE. IT HAS TO BE REALLY BAD, BECAUSE NORMALLY VOLUNTEERS WILL PUT UP WITH ALL SORTS OF THINGS, SO IT'S A MAJOR ISSUE AND MAJOR` AND UNBELIEVABLE THAT THE ORGANISATION WON'T ADDRESS IT. ALLAN HALSE BELIEVES THE FIRE SERVICE SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THE HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT, WHICH EXPLAINS BULLYING COMES IN A VARIETY OF FORMS. THEY HAVE GOT A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM ON THEIR HANDS, AND MOST ORGANISATIONS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE RISKS TO THEIR REPUTATION. EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT INTERESTED IN INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES OR VOLUNTEERS, THEY ARE CERTAINLY NORMALLY INTERESTED IN HOW THEY'RE PERCEIVED BY THE PUBLIC, AND PARTICULARLY SOMETHING LIKE THE FIRE SERVICE THAT RELIES ON DONATIONS AND THE GOODWILL OF THE COMMUNITY. AND THEY'RE COMPLETELY DISREGARDING THE COMMUNITY AND THE VOLUNTEERS THAT ARE DOING SUCH GOOD WORK FOR THEM. LET'S BE CLEAR ` IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW THE EXACT EXTENT OF BULLYING IN THE FIRE SERVICE. BUT WHAT IS APPARENT IS THE STRENGTH OF FEELING OF THOSE WHO HAVE FELT BULLIED. GOING PUBLIC FOR THEM HAS NOT BEEN EASY, BUT THEY ALL SAY THEY LOVED HELPING THEIR COMMUNITIES AND TOLD THEIR STORIES IN THE HOPE THAT THEY WOULD BRING CHANGE. JOE PUBLIC WOULD BE HORRIFIED OF SOME OF THE INCIDENTS THAT ARE OCCURRING WHERE THEY REGARD THE FIRE SERVICE AS THE NUMBER ONE COMMUNITY SERVICE IN NZ. THE RULES ALLOW BULLIES TO BULLY. WE HAVE TO CHANGE. WE CANNOT, UM` WE CANNOT HAVE A FIRE SERVICE LIKE THIS. I CAN'T BELIEVE 2015 NZ HAS A FIRE SERVICE THE WAY IT IS, TREATING THEIR VOLUNTEERS LIKE THIS. HMM. SINCE WE STARTED ADVERTISING THIS STORY IN THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS, MANY MORE PEOPLE HAVE COME FORWARD WITH THEIR STORIES. AND IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE ` WHATEVER IT'S ABOUT ` WE'D LOVE TO HEAR IT. OK, THAT WAS '3D INVESTIGATES', FUNDED BY NZ ON AIR. WE'RE BACK NEXT MONDAY NIGHT AT 9.30, AND I'LL SEE YOU SHORTLY WITH 'NEWSWORTHY'. THANKS FOR WATCHING. CAPTIONS BY INGRID LAUDER. CAPTIONS WERE MADE POSSIBLE WITH FUNDING FROM NZ ON AIR. COPYRIGHT ABLE 2015 Tonight on Inside Story... Sometimes I think I look like this huge, disgusting mess. ..we enter a distorted world... ..where nothing is as it seems... Amy, with her anorexia, has a passion for food. She just doesn't eat it. ..as a young woman battles an unseen enemy... Feeding her six times a day to keep her alive. ..to save her life. I deep down that I'm not just anorexia. I'm a person. I have hope that I won't be this way forever. Oh, my god! Hello. Nice to meet you. I heard you're keen to get better. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Able 2015 Hello. I'm Leila McKinnon. Welcome to Inside Story. Anorexia is one of those diseases that defies logic. How can an emaciated teenager stand in front of a mirror and see some alien, fat, ugly creature? But they do. And it kills more people than any other psychiatric illness, even depression. So probably the only way to understand anorexia is to live with it, or to meet someone as feisty and courageous as 18-year-old Amy Mayhew. Sometimes I think I look like this just huge, disgusting mess that takes up too much space and isn't a very good person and then other times I just, I see that I do have an eating disorder and I see that my mind makes me think things that may not be true. Anorexia's been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Nothing anyone around me says can be the right thing to say. Like, my anorexia will twist it into something horrible. I hear, "You look fat. You're disgusting. You're ugly." It's just day in, day out, the same battles. It's heartbreaking. It's very sad. I think anorexia nervosa is best thought about as a disorder like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. It's a major psychiatric illness. Oh, it's like a volcano and you never know when the volcano is going to erupt. It's really difficult to explain what comes over me when I'm in that disordered mind state. I'm like it 95% of the time, and it's almost just like just something takes over. I hear in my head like my own voice saying all these horrible things and that causes me to behave in a certain way. What anorexia will do is talk a lot and it will be abusive and it will tell you that you are not good enough