The announcement of an extension of time for QFES staff and volunteers who haven't yet applied for a Blue Card, until after the next bushfire season, is being treated with scepticism in Rural Fire Brigade ranks.
While it may have temporarily stemmed the bleeding of volunteers handing back their membership as a protest, the announcement is being described as a backside-covering exercise.
In the days leading up to the March 31 deadline imposed by the state government for mandatory Blue Card registration as part of its legislation under the Working with Children Act , 8000 volunteers, or 41 per cent of members, had failed to apply and there were fears that many brigades would become inoperable as a result.
That has since ended up being 4900 Rural Fire Brigade members who have not signed up, or 26 per cent.
In comparison, 99pc of Fire and Rescue Service members have applied, along with 94pc of State Emergency Service members.
Fire and Emergency Services Minister Craig Crawford said the extension, announced on Saturday, was because COVID restrictions had prevented QFES from having the opportunity to reach out to personnel for one-on-one conversations.
"It is for this reason that I have asked QFES to delay any further processing until after the next fire season, enabling the Rural Fire volunteers to continue," he said. "This will ensure that QFES can speak with every volunteer."
Cairns Peninsula RFBAQ representative John Thompson said 42 per cent of North Queensland members hadn't applied for a Blue Card.
"Does this mean they're going to use us for another 12 months because a fire season is coming and then get rid of us," he asked. "I can see that question written on the forehead of my members - it's ridiculous."
He cited one brigade in his region where 18 out of 35 members had received letters advising of their suspension and/or removal from duty, and a 30-day notice to show cause.
In what he described as the ultimate irony, he said that as a fire warden he didn't need to apply for a Blue Card, yet he dealt with children more than anyone else in his brigade.
"I feel sorry for the QFES people who've now got to convince long-standing volunteers to hand their gear in.
"It's just stupidity - it has put volunteers in a bad place and those who are paid in a similarly awkward position."
RFBAQ president Ian Pike went further than that, saying it had been a fend-off by the government to cover its backside during the upcoming fire season.
He and RFBAQ general manager Justin Choveaux met with Commissioner Greg Leach on Monday afternoon, which Mr Choveaux described as "not a victory but at least we have stopped losing".
"The Commissioner is still rolling out the Blue Card but it will be held in abeyance until after the fire season.
"He says they can't unscramble the egg but he will ask for an apology for the way this has been handled.
"I asked for those who had resigned to be contacted but was told no, they were no longer members."
At the heart of the wrangle is Crown Law advice that that Blue Card screening should be introduced for all staff and volunteers serving as firefighters or rescuers.
Mr Choveaux said RFB volunteers had incorrectly been scooped up with paid FRS and SES positions.
"They want a consistent product, like a regular brigade, but these are the people who fight fires for free - they're the ones you don't get rid of."
Mr Crawford said that contrary to reports, the number of RFS personnel who were yet to apply for a Blue Card would not impact QFES' ability to maintain an effective fire and emergency response, including hazard mitigation activities that are currently underway.
Mr Choveaux refuted that, giving an example of the three brigades on Fraser Island, two of whom consisted of members where no-one had applied for a Blue Card, which he said was an unworkable situation.
Opposition Fire and Emergency Services spokesman Lachlan Millar said the government should never have threatened to sack rural firefighters.
"The whole time the Palaszczuk Labor government spent threatening to sack our rural firies should have spent working with them and getting our state bushfire-prepared," he said.
"Craig Crawford must personally apologise to each and every rural fire volunteer today over this fiasco and the way he has treated our rural firies.
"Queensland couldn't afford to have thousands of rural firies hand in their badges in the lead up to bushfire season and Labor pushing back the deadline for a third time is an admission they have botched this whole process.
"Rural volunteer firefighters have been treated appallingly by Labor throughout this entire saga, and it's still not over."
Among the issues being pushed by Mr Choveaux is a confidential information line that volunteer brigade members could tap into amid an environment of rumour and misinformation around what constituted a misdemeanour under Blue Card regulations.
He said it would give people accurate information without forcing them to disclose past minor infringements.
"It's another way the government could be empathetic about this whole thing," he said.