Mr Taylor said the meeting had left him still holding some concerns about the new agreement.

“I did catch up with the premier to speak about concerns we had and he gave us his opinion on those concerns,” he said.

“But I believe we have to wait and see how it all pans out.

“Of course the members are asking me questions, so any opportunity I can get to learn a bit more I am taking and a meeting with the premier was an opportunity to do that.”

Mr Taylor said his biggest concern was the union’s input in to the Country Fire Authority’s policies and procedures for volunteers.

“No one has been able to totally explain how this will work out, it is not a veto, but the union wants the ability to discuss policy and procedures,” he said.

“The problem being that leaves it open for them to say they don’t agree with it.”

He said the language needed to be changed so the union only had to be consulted on changes, but did not have the ability to block anything.

Mr Taylor said no one had yet been able to fully explain what the result of the enterprise agreement would be.

But he said several issues, including questions about paid firefighters being required at every incident, had been addressed.

“It is in the agreement, but it refers to staffed stations like Ballarat city, where the union wants to make sure their equipment is fully manned,” he said.

“They want to make sure they have a full shift available because a place like that wants to respond in 90 seconds because they are on the job first.”

“Typically that would not affect us in Ararat.”

Mr Andrews said in a letter there were a lot of lies being told about the new agreement.

“These lies are causing unnecessary concern for volunteers and the communities they protect every single day,” he said in the letter.