Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has used Victorian volunteer firefighters as political pawns for his own benefit, says opposition leader Bill Shorten.
Mr Shorten told 3AW he believed the controversial pay dispute had gone on too long but refused to mirror Mr Turnbull's promise to intervene if elected, saying it was a state issue.
"I'm like every other Victorian wondering how has it got to this sort of trench warfare position and people just need to work with each other," Mr Shorten said on Friday.
Whether Mr Shorten has tried to intervene remains unclear, the Labor leader refusing to confirm a secret meeting with United Firefighters Union secretary Peter Marshall earlier in the year.
"I meet with union reps, I meet with business leaders, I even meet with ABC journalists but I'm not going to go into the substance of these discussions," he told the ABC.
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The issue promises to affect Saturday's election with firefighters for and against the deal expected to vote.
A community information session about the enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) will also be held on Saturday in an outer suburb of Melbourne in the seat held by the Victorian Emergency Services Minister James Merlino.
"The UFU continue to say that volunteers and the public are being mislead," Upwey CFA captain Alan Stansfield said on Friday.
"If that is the case, why has the minister gone, the CEO and Chief (Officer) gone and the board sacked?"
The dispute has claimed the scalps of former emergency services minister Jane Garrett, CFA chief executive Lucinda Nolan, the CFA board and, this week, CFA chief officer Joe Buffone.
All were concerned the EBA would effectively hand a veto clause and control of some management decisions to the union.
The union and government deny that would be the case.
